燃煤型砷中毒的最低有效累积暴露剂量初探

以陕南燃煤型砷中毒病区的5个自然村为调查采样点,通过现场流行病学调查和环境样品的分析测定,分析砷暴露人群的砷暴露途径,估算各暴露途径(呼吸、饮水和食物)的暴露剂量及对总暴露的贡献率,探讨引发燃煤型地方性砷中毒发病的最低有效暴露剂量。研究结果表明,除对照村外,采暖季各村的烤火间和卧室空气砷含量均有不同程度的超标,水和粮食未受燃煤砷污染。在采暖季,高砷煤燃烧污染的空气是人群砷暴露的主要来源;在非采暖季消化道砷暴露是各村的主要摄砷途径;表明消化道暴露对累积砷暴露的贡献不容忽视。结合问卷调查和流行病学调查结果,估算陕南病区引发燃煤型砷中毒的最低累积暴露剂量在1 712 mg左右。     

燃煤型砷中毒的最低有效累积暴露剂量初探

以陕南燃煤型砷中毒病区的5个自然村为调查采样点,通过现场流行病学调查和环境样品的分析测定,分析砷暴露人群的砷暴露途径,估算各暴露途径(呼吸、饮水和食物)的暴露剂量及对总暴露的贡献率,探讨引发燃煤型地方性砷中毒发病的最低有效暴露剂量。研究结果表明,除对照村外,采暖季各村的烤火间和卧室空气砷含量均有不同程度的超标,水和粮食未受燃煤砷污染。在采暖季,高砷煤燃烧污染的空气是人群砷暴露的主要来源;在非采暖季消化道砷暴露是各村的主要摄砷途径;提示消化道暴露对累积砷暴露的贡献不容忽视。结合问卷调查和流行病学调查结果,估算陕南病区引发燃煤型砷中毒的最低累积暴露剂量在1 712 mg左右。     

燃煤型砷中毒病区尿砷甲基化代谢和砷致皮肤损伤危险度的关系初探

砷中毒具有特异的皮肤损伤特征。为了研究燃煤型砷中毒病区高砷暴露、人体甲基化代谢能力与皮肤损伤患病风险之间的关系,在陕南典型燃煤型砷中毒村进行了皮肤损伤诊断和流行病学调查,采集尿样并分析总砷及形态砷含量,同时计算了用于表征人体砷甲基化代谢能力的指标包括尿中无机砷、一甲基砷和二甲基砷占总砷的百分含量(i As%、MMA%、DMA%),以及一甲基化率(PMI=MMA/i As)和二甲基化率(SMI=DMA/MMA)。Logistic回归分析结果表明:尿总砷含量(UTAs)是砷致皮肤损伤的危险因素(OR=1.038,95%CI:1.003~1.073),二甲基砷百分含量和SMI是皮肤损伤的保护因素(OR=0.883,95%CI:0.798~0.976;OR=0.724,95%CI:0.535~0.978);且砷致皮肤损伤的危险度随砷暴露水平的增高和甲基化能力的降低而增大。     

内蒙古自治区河套平原砷中毒高发区作物中砷的检测及健康风险评价

为了研究地方性砷中毒高发区作物中砷含量及其对人体健康的威胁,在内蒙古自治区河套平原4个自然村采集了72个谷物蔬菜水果、81份人体尿样和8个自来水样品。用高效液相色谱-电感耦合等离子体质谱(HPLC-ICP-MS)分析测定采集的样品中各形态砷及其含量;用ICP-MS分析测定消解后的作物样品中砷总量。结果表明,自来水中总砷含量均小于1.0μg·L-1。尿液样品中总砷含量为4.50～319μg·L-1(平均值为56.9μg·L-1),二甲基砷(DMA)是尿砷的主要形态(>70%)。作物中砷的主要形态有无机三价砷As(III)、无机五价砷As(V)和DMA。谷物和蔬菜水果中总砷含量的最大值分别为102和335μg·kg-1。成人和儿童最大日摄入砷量分别为232和205μg。通过分析采样地人体尿砷、作物砷和地方性砷中毒发病率的相关性得出,作物中砷的含量虽未明显超过国家标准,但对人体健康有明显的潜在威胁。政府改水后(饮用水由井水变为达标的自来水),人体的健康风险主要来自作物中的砷,而不是饮用水中的砷。     

呼和浩特盆地西部大面积富砷地下水水质检测分析

经对呼和浩特盆地西部深层水１０００ｋｍ￣２、浅层水６００ｋｍ￣２范围内进行水质检测分析，发现其深、浅两层地下水均富砷，浅水有１８．８％、深水有４０．９％的水样砷含量超过国家饮用水卫生标准。测得水体总砷中以三价砷为主。溶解氧含量低，铁、锰离子为痕量，硫酸盐、亚硝酸盐氮含量也均低，同时有低硒、高氟现象，提示该地区为富含有机质的强还原环境，有利于砷的迁移富集，对饮水型砷中毒起着促进作用。     

中国饮水型砷中毒区的水化学环境与砷中毒关系

中国各饮水型砷中毒区的水化学特点受沉积环境和气候因素所控制,砷中毒的流行和发病程度与其地下水的水化学环境、水中砷的形态和价态有密切联系。在实地考察监测和对台湾、新疆、内蒙古、山西、吉林饮水型砷中毒病区环境和地下水水化学特征总结的基础上,系统分析了饮水水源中总As、As(III)、甲基胂、腐植酸与砷中毒的关系,揭示了不同病区病情差异的原因。研究表明,除台湾外,各砷中毒区均分布在干旱半干旱区;各病区多分布在沉积盆地中心或平原内相对低洼的地带,饮用的地下水均取自中新生代地层;砷中毒病情不仅与总砷含量有明显的剂量-效应关系,还与As(III)和甲基胂的浓度直接相关。台湾、内蒙古和山西病区地下水为富含有机质的复杂还原环境,水中不仅As(III)含量高,且检出有机物、腐植酸和甲基胂,新疆和吉林病区地下水为以无机砷中As(V)为主的氧化环境,吉林病区未检测出甲基胂,这是新疆与吉林病区患病率较低的主要原因。研究成果可为区域防病改水、砷中毒的预报提供重要技术支撑。     

中国关于砷的研究进展

综述了近年来有关中国的砷污染状况、相关的分析监测技术及砷化合物毒性的研究进展.在中国部分地区,长期砷暴露导致了严重的区域性的砷中毒,主要的暴露途径是饮用水、食物和煤炭的燃烧.样品前处理、砷的富集和形态分析技术的丰富和发展,为环境科学、毒理学和流行病学的研究提供了可靠的技术支持.生物检测是一种直接有效的污染物健康风险评估...     

氯化石蜡的人体暴露研究进展

短链氯化石蜡具有持久性有机污染物的特性，是列入《关于持久性有机污染物的斯德哥尔摩公约》全球管控的有机物，氯化石蜡在人体内蓄积，造成健康风险.为研究氯化石蜡的人体暴露情况，对近20年来的相关论文进行综述.氯化石蜡的人体暴露途径可以大致分为外部暴露途径和内部暴露途径.外部暴露主要来自食物（饮食摄入）、空气（呼吸吸入）和室内灰尘（灰尘摄入和皮肤吸入）.对于内部暴露，目前在人体血液（血浆或血清）、母乳、胎盘、头发和指甲中均已检测到氯化石蜡.与普通成年人群相比，儿童以及婴幼儿外部暴露氯化石蜡的风险较高.中国由于较大的生产和使用量，人群暴露量相对较高.目前需加强氯化石蜡分析方法的可比性，以及氯化石蜡在人体的蓄积代谢研究等.同时，血液（血清或血浆）和母乳以外的其他生物指标中链和长链氯化石蜡人体暴露风险评估的研究也应得到重视.     

内蒙古某地区饮用水砷含量与人体暴露及致癌风险分析

砷的季节变化对暴露评估及健康风险评价的准确性具有重要影响。选择内蒙古某饮水型砷中毒病区为研究区,评估不同季节砷的直接摄入量、间接摄入量和皮肤接触吸收量,并评价砷的致癌健康风险。结果表明:(1)研究区男性和女性居民砷的摄入量分别为1.80和1.89μg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1),明显高于对照区的0.08和0.08μg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1);研究区男性和女性居民砷的皮肤接触吸收量分别为8.89×10~(-4)和1.10×10~(-3)μg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1),明显高于对照区的4.18×10~(-5)和4.93×10~(-5)μg·kg~(-1)·d~(-1)。(2)研究区居民的砷摄入量占摄入及皮肤接触途径暴露量之和的99.93%以上,夏季及冬季砷暴露量占全年砷暴露量的89.04%以上。(3)研究区男性和女性居民砷的致癌健康风险分别为3.75×10~(-5)和3.67×10~(-5)a~(-1)。由研究结果可知,摄入是饮水型砷暴露的主要途径;夏季砷的暴露量最高,冬季次之;研究区居民摄入及皮肤接触途径的砷致癌健康风险均超过可接受风险水平(10~(-6)a~(-1))。     

微塑料的人群暴露途径及其健康危害

微塑料污染是近几年来出现的新环境问题,但目前对人群的微塑料暴露途径及其可能的健康危害并不清楚.本文基于现有微塑料研究的相关文献,重点分析了人类通过食物摄取、饮水以及空气接触的微塑料暴露途径,估算了中国人通过海鲜和食盐可能摄取的微塑料量,并对微塑料的多种潜在生理毒性进行了综述.进一步提出了今后需要系统研究微塑料的人体暴露途径、探索自然环境微塑料浓度下的人体健康风险、关注微塑料对人体肠道微生物的影响等优先研究方向,为正确评价微塑料的人体健康风险提供了理论依据.     

Arsenism Clinical Stages and their Relation with Hair Arsenic Concentration of Residents of Bayinmaodao Rural District, Inner Mongolia, China

The clinical skin lesions of arsenism in men and women in Bayinmaodao rural district in Inner Mongolia, Peoples Republic of China, have been examined by doctors, and their hair and drinking water samples analysed for arsenic by hydride generation and ICP-AES. Altogether 311 arsenism patients with a 15.53% prevalence rate for the district were recorded. The disease prevalence rate was positively related to population, age, and their exposure to elevated arsenic concentrations in the drinking water from 1983 when new wells were dug and drinking of surface water was abandoned. Hyperkeratosis was the most serious skin lesion with the highest occurrence rate, then depigmentation and pigmentation in decreasing order. With increasing severity of the disease, ranging from skin lesion with single hyperkeratosis 1° to hyperkeratosis 3° with depigmentation 3° and pigmentation 3°, the results showed that arsenic concentrations in head hair had increased. Arsenic concentrations in hair were positively correlated with the arsenic concentrations in drinking water obtained from local wells.     

Chronic exposure of arsenic via drinking water and its adverse health impacts on humans

Worldwide chronic arsenic (As) toxicity has become a human health threat. Arsenic exposure to humans mainly occurs from the ingestion of As contaminated water and food. This communication presents a review of current research conducted on the adverse health effects on humans exposed to As-contaminated water. Chronic exposure of As via drinking water causes various types of skin lesions such as melanosis, leucomelanosis, and keratosis. Other manifestations include neurological effects, obstetric problems, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, diseases of the respiratory system and of blood vessels including cardiovascular, and cancers typically involving the skin, lung, and bladder. The skin seems to be quite susceptible to the effects of As. Arsenic-induced skin lesions seem to be the most common and initial symptoms of arsenicosis. More systematic studies are needed to determine the link between As exposure and its related cancer and noncancer end points.     

The Relationship Between Exposure to Arsenic Concentrations in Drinking Water and the Development of Skin Lesions in Farmers from Inner Mongolia, China

Associations between the concentration of arsenic naturally occurring in drinking water and the development of skin lesions in people have been documented for some years at various locations around the world. Data on the exposure-response relationship between concentrations of arsenic in drinking water and prevalence of skin lesions in farmers from five locations in Inner Mongolia, China have been collected from the original publications and re-analysed together as a meta-study. The calculated data show a positive linear exposure-response relationship without a threshold. The reasons for this linear correlation are discussed and compared with the data from Xinjiang, another arsenism area located in a different geographical area of China. Here a different relationship was recorded that involved a threshold concentration before skin lesions developed. The significance of these two different exposure-response scenarios is discussed.     

Coal utilization in China: environmental impacts and human health

Coal is one of the major energy resources in China, accounting for approximately 70 % of primary energy consumption. Many environmental problems and human health risks arise during coal exploitation, utilization, and waste disposal, especially in the remote mountainous areas of western China (e.g., eastern Yunnan, western Guizhou and Hubei, and southern Shaanxi). In this paper, we report a thorough review of the environmental and human health impacts related to coal utilization in China. The abundance of the toxic trace elements such as F, As, Se, and Hg in Chinese coals is summarized. The environmental problems (i.e., water, soil, and air pollution) that are related to coal utilization are outlined. The provenance, distributions, typical symptoms, sources, and possible pathways of endemic fluorosis, arsenism, and selenosis due to improper coal usage (briquettes mixed with high-F clay, mineralized As-rich coal, and Se-rich stone coal) are discussed in detail. In 2010, 14.8, 1.9 million, and 16,000 Chinese people suffered from dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and arsenism, respectively. Finally, several suggestions are proposed for the prevention and treatment for endemic problems caused by coal utilization.     

Health risk assessment for arsenic contaminated soil

This paper describes risk assessment methods for two chronic exposure pathways involving arsenic contaminated soil, namely inhalation of fugitive dust emissions over a lifetime, and inadvertent soil/house dust ingestion. The endpoint in the first case is assumed to be lung cancer and in the second case skin cancer. In order to estimate exposures, inhalation rates and soil/dust ingestion rates are estimated for different age groups; indoor/outdoor time budgets for different age groups are developed; and indoor surface dust and air arsenic concentrations are estimated based on outdoor concentration measurements. Differences observed in indoor/outdoor ratios and arsenic containing dust particle size among different types of communities are noted, as well as possible relationship of particle size to bioavailability. Calculations of risk are presented using cancer potency factors developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and uncertainties in these toxicity estimates are described based on: (1) evidence that arsenic may be neither a cancer initiator nor promotor, but may act instead as a late stage carcinogen and (2) evidence that the arsenic dose-response relationship for ingestion may be nonlinear at low doses due to increasing methylation of inorganic arsenic. The first of these considerations influences the relative importance ascribed to arsenic doses in different age groups. The latter consideration indicates that the risk estimates described here are probably very conservative.     

Endemic Arsenosis Caused by Indoor Combustion of High-As Coal in Guizhou Province, P.R. China

The arsenic (As) content of coal relating with mineralization of gold in Southwest Guizhou Province, China is up to 35,000 ppm. The coal is burned indoors in open pits for daily cooking and crop drying. As a result, arsenic is precipitated and concentrated in corn (5–20 ppm), chili (100–800 ppm) and other foods. Arsenic concentrations in the drinking water of high-As coal areas are lower than 50 ppb. The estimated main sources of As exposure in this area are from polluted food. Approximately, 3000 arsenosis patients were found by 1998, and more than 100,000 people from six counties were under the threat in China. This paper presents the major ingestion pathway of this type arsenosis and relative geochemistry of high-As coal. The project supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 40133010).