High Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Neighborhoods near Ore Smelters in Northern Mexico

Benin, Andrea L.; Dalton, Madeline A.; Roda, Sandy

doi:10.2307/3434594

Cited by 22 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Our results are in agreement with recent work reporting high lead, arsenic, and cadmium concentrations in dust from residential areas around the smelter complex. Benin et al (1999) concluded that residential neighborhoods near the smelting and refining site were contaminated by heavy metals at concentrations likely to represent a health threat. Data show that environmental contamination has resulted in increased lead body burden, suggesting that children living in the vicinity of the smelter complex are at high risk of suffering the well-known adverse effects of lead if exposure continues.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lead Exposure in Children Living in a Smelter Community in Region Lagunera, Mexico

Vargas

Andrade

Razo

et al. 2001

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A

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Industrial growth has created the potential for environmental problems in Mexico, since attention to environmental controls and urban planning has lagged behind the pace of industrialization. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to assess lead exposure in children aged 6-9 yr attending 3 primary schools and living in the vicinity of the largest smelter complex in Mexico. One of the schools is located 650 m distant from a smelter complex that includes a lead smelter (close school); the second is located 1750 m away from the complex and at the side of a heavy traffic road (intermediate school) in Torreon, Coahuila. The third school is located in Comez Palacio, Durango, 8100 m away from the smelter complex and distant from heavy vehicular traffic or industrial areas (remote school). Lead was measured in air, soil, dust, and well water. Lead in blood (PbB) was determined in 394 children attending the above mentioned schools. Determinations were performed by atomic absorption spectrometry. Diet, socioeconomic status, hygienic habits, and other variables were assessed by questionnaire. Median (range) PbB values were 7.8 microg/dl (3.54-29.61) in the remote school, 21.8 microg/dl (8.37-52.08) in the intermediate school and 27.6 microg/dl (7.37-58.53) in children attending the close school. The percentage of children with PbB > 15 microg/dl was 6.80%, 84.9%, and 92.1% respectively. In this order, the geometric means (range) of Pb concentrations in air were 2.5 microg/m3 (1.1-7.5), 5.8 microg/m3 (4.3-8.5), and 6.1 microg/m3 (1.6-14.9). The Pb concentrations in dust from playgrounds areas in the intermediate and close school settings ranged from 1,457 to 4,162.5 mg/kg. Pb concentrations in drinking water were less than 5 microg/L. Soil and dust ingestion and inhalation appear to be the main routes of exposure. Our results indicate that environmental contamination has resulted in an increased body burden of Pb, suggesting that children living in the vicinity of the smelter complex are at high risk for adverse effects of lead.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Lead Exposure in Children Living in a Smelter Community in Region Lagunera, Mexico

Vargas

Andrade

Razo

et al. 2001

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A

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“…Pollution caused by atmospheric emissions of heavy elements through smelter stacks or by other industrial activities is a worldwide environmental concern (Ragaini et al, 1977;Hogan and Wotton, 1984;Løbersli and Steinnes, 1988;Nriagu and Pacyna, 1988;Kalac et al, 1991;Díaz-Barriga et al, 1993;Hwang et al, 1997;Benin et al, 1999;Rieuwerts et al, 2000;Carrizales et al, 2006). Indeed, high concentrations of Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, As, Sb, Cd and Sn are usually found in soils around smelting plants in many countries (Barcan and Kovnatsky, 1998;McMartin et al, 1999;Sterckeman et al, 2000;Goodarzi et al, 2002;Martley et al, 2004;Rawlins et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The high contents of lead in soils of northern Kosovo

Borgna

Lella

Nannoni

et al. 2009

Journal of Geochemical Exploration

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“…Paired studies of surface dust and total suspended particulates can be particularly fruitful for confirming airborne chemistry and identifying spatial patterns of metals (Muskett and Jones 1980;Boudissa et al 2006). Many case studies exist worldwide of using surface dust chemistry to quantify atmospheric loading of heavy metals and/or identify spatial patterns of deposition (Harrison 1979;Duggan 1984;Fergusson and Ryan 1984;Thornton et al 1985;Rapsomanikis and Donard 1985;Davies et al 1987;Tam et al 1987;Wong and Mak 1997;Benin et al 1999;Reid et al 2003;Clark et al 2005). Accordingly, surface dust chemistry in and around Fallon was used to establish the spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt deposition, with the objective of pinpointing the source or sources of elevated airborne tungsten and cobalt particulates within Fallon.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt in surface dust of Fallon, Nevada

Sheppard

Speakman

Ridenour³

et al. 2007

Environ Geochem Health

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Spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt are described for surface dust of Fallon, Nevada, where a cluster of childhood leukemia has been ongoing since 1997. In earlier research, airborne tungsten and cobalt was shown to be elevated in total suspended particulates in Fallon. To fine-tune the spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt deposition in Fallon, surface dust was collected in a grid pattern within as well as outside of Fallon to establish background concentrations of metals. In surface dust, tungsten and cobalt show sharp peaks (934 ppm and 98 ppm, respectively) within Fallon just north of highway 50 and west of highway 95. These two peaks overlap spatially, and given the grid pattern used for collecting surface dust, the source area of these two airborne metals can be pinpointed to the vicinity of hard-metal industry located north of highway 50 and west of highway 95. Fallon is distinctive in west central Nevada because of high airborne tungsten and cobalt particulates, and given its cluster of childhood leukemia, it stands to reason that additional biomedical research is in order to test directly the leukogenicity of combined airborne tungsten and cobalt particulates.

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High Concentrations of Heavy Metals in Neighborhoods near Ore Smelters in Northern Mexico

Cited by 22 publications

References 3 publications

Lead Exposure in Children Living in a Smelter Community in Region Lagunera, Mexico

Lead Exposure in Children Living in a Smelter Community in Region Lagunera, Mexico

The high contents of lead in soils of northern Kosovo

Spatial patterns of tungsten and cobalt in surface dust of Fallon, Nevada

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