Environment and cancer in Shanghai

Shanghai is the biggest industrial city in China, and the problem of environmental pollution is rather serious. This article, taking Shanghai as an example, is to discuss: a general view of Shanghai's environment; the present situation and characteristics of cancer in Shanghai; analyses of the environmental factors of some kinds of cancers. The paper emphasizes the relationship between the environment and cancer in Shanghai, especially the environmental pollution and cancer. The aim of the article is not only to call people's concern to the pollution , but also to study the causes of some cancers.     

香烟中的钋-210与肺癌

本文根据文献报道,综述国内外香烟中~(210)Po放射性水平及其对人体健康的危害;介绍吸人烟雾中~(210)Po-导致肺癌发生的动物试验结果及对低剂量。辐射致癌的危险度估算,指出吸烟作为诱发呼吸系统癌变的污染源,应予控制。     

High consumption of pesticides in agricultural fields leads to prevalence of cancer cases in rural pockets of eastern India: A case study

This study was performed to evaluate the carcinogenic health risk of pesticides used in agricultural field in rural pockets of eastern India. The analysis of pesticide residue in rice grain sample was performed by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). It was observed that for pesticide DDT, the HR values was ranging between 0.5 to 3.2 and for lindane HR was 0.4 to 1.1, respectively. The DDT and Lindane exhibited HR values >1 in some sampling sites which revealed the carcinogenic effects and HR <1 in some sampling sites which revealed non carcinogenic effects of same pesticide. These results revealed a clear indication of potential carcinogenic health risk to human health through consumption of contaminated rice in some areas of Bargarh district. DDT has a long half-life, so it persists in the environment for a longer period of time and induces carcinogenic risk to human health predominantly than other pesticide lindane. A case study on cancer prevalence in Bargarh district was also carried out to support the findings of quantitative analysis. The primary data collected from the cancer affected area by personal questionnaires method to the person concern and the secondary data collected from the Bargarh District Head Quarters Hospital's register. The cancer death reported by the from the year 2015 to 2021 was 320, 380, 293, 323, 278, 409, 346 in the year of 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 respectively, with the total number of 2349 cases. From the questionnaire data, it was observed that the occurrence of male and female cancer cases was 51.75% and 48.25%, respectively. Therefore, it was concluded that there was no significant difference in gender wise cancer prevalence. The most affected age group was 51–60, that is, 26.92% followed by 41–50, that is, 23.42%. Therefore, it was concluded that the middle-aged adults (40–60) were more vulnerable to the cancer than young adults (3–40) and old adults (60–100). The most prevalent cancer was breast (22.72%) followed by stomach (14.33%).     

宣威肺癌高发区燃煤排放颗粒物中铁的价态及其氧化性

云南宣威地区的高肺癌死亡率被认为是与居民室内燃烧烟煤有关.为探明宣威地区高肺癌死亡率的原因,在宣威4个不同区域采集了原煤样品并在室内利用一套自行设计的烟气采集装置对所采集的原煤样品模拟当地燃烧条件进行了燃烧,获取燃煤排放颗粒物样品.使用BCR连续提取法(community bureau of reference,BCR)获取原煤、底灰和燃煤排放颗粒物中铁的赋存形态及分布特征,用高效液相色谱(HPLC)检测燃煤颗粒物在替代肺液(surrogate lung fluid,SLF)中产生·OH水平的变化.结果显示,原煤中存在大量的可氧化态铁,经过燃烧后,飞灰颗粒物中生物可利用的铁(酸可提取态、可还原态、可氧化态)占了很大的比重(46%~78%);燃煤颗粒物24 h所产生·OH的量在不同粒径颗粒物之间存在一定差异,在细粒径段(1μm、1.1~2μm、2~3.3μm)和粗粒径段(3.3~7μm、7μm)均表现为·OH的量随粒径减小而增加;同时,燃煤颗粒物中可氧化态Fe的含量与产生·OH能力具有一定的线性相关性(R2=0.32).     

Seasonal variation effects on the formation of trihalomethane during chlorination of water from Yangtze River and associated cancer risk assessment

For the system of water samples collected from Yangtze River,the effects of seasonal variation and Fe(III) concentrations on the formation and distribution of trihalomethanes (THMs) during chlorination have been investigated.The corresponding lifetime cancer risk of the formed THMs to human beings was estimated using the parameters and procedure issued by the US EPA.The results indicated that the average concentration of THMs (100.81 μg/L) in spring was significantly higher than that in other seasons,which ...     

Time‐Dependent Health Risk from Contaminated Groundwater Including Use of Reliability,Resilience, and Vulnerability as Measures

Traditionally, assessment of human health risk caused by contamination of a water supply focuses on the maximum risk to an individual. Here, we introduce a time‐dependent risk assessment method and adapt and explore the reliability, resilience, and vulnerability (RRV) criteria from the surface‐water literature as possible tools for assessing this risk. Time‐dependent risk assessment, including RRV, is applied to two synthetic examples where water quality at a well varies over time. We calculate time‐dependent health risks for discrete periods of exposure to the contaminated water for a variable population. The RRV criteria provide information about time‐dependent risk: probability of an acceptable risk, probability of system recovery, maximum risk, and average exceedance of a prescribed risk threshold. The results demonstrate that episodic contamination events produce fundamentally different time‐dependent risks than long‐term events: these differences, such as generally lower risks for the episodic contamination, can be captured via plots of the risk and the RRV criteria. Furthermore, the evaluation of time‐dependent health risk and the RRV criteria demonstrates significant sensitivity to the shape of the contaminant breakthrough curve, length of exposure, and variability within the population. Overall, analysis of time‐dependent health risks provides substantial insight into the structure of risk, with RRV providing a reasonable framework for the evaluation of these risks.     

Speciation and the bioavailability of actinide elements

A good understanding of the quantitative uptake of actinide elements from foodstuffs, across the mucosal cell membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, into man is of great importance in setting intake limits and in assessing radiation doses to critical organs.

In the past, such knowledge has been gained from the extrapolation of animal models to man. Whilst this strategy has proved useful in a number of cases, it is, unfortunately, phenomenological and the results prone to perturbation from factors such as the fasting state of the animal and the initial chemical form of the actinide.

The application of computer simulation models which can calculate the chemical speciation of an element in a variety of foodstuffs under conditions pertinent to the gastrointestinal tract offers a non‐invasive and general method for predicting the uptake of exogenous elements, like the actinides.

This paper reviews the current state of chemical speciation analysis with respect to bioavailability highlighting areas requiring further consideration, presenting results amplifying the issues raised and showing that computer simulation has a rôle to play in predicting quantitative uptake of the actinides.     

Chromosome damage in individuals exposed to heavy metals†

Testing the mutagenic activity of environmental pollutants has become an important area of modern environmental science and prophylactic medicine. The most suitable method for short‐term mutagenicity testing on man, at present, are chromosome studies on somatic cells of exposed individuals. Mutation types analyzed by such studies are of high practical relevance as indicator system of genetic damage induced in man under in vivo conditions. A rather large series of such studies has been dedicated to the action of heavy metals on individuals contacted with these metals under therapeutic, ecological or occupational conditions or by intoxication. Lead, cadmium, chromium, nickel, mercury, zinc and other metals as well as their compounds have been under study. Analyses of that kind, of course, are hampered by difficulties with the distinct estimation of the actual load as well as unclear conditions of exposition, e.g. simultaneous exposition to different metals.

Results obtained till now arouse some suspicion of a direct or indirect mutagenic activity in man by certain chromium and platinum compounds, arsenic, mercury, and combinations of lead with other heavy metals (cadmium, zinc, arsenic, antimony, etc.). Life style, above all smoking habits, well may act comutagenic. In most cases, however, mutagenic activity of metals and metal compounds apparently is clearly superposed by their toxic activity. In specific cases, chromosome studies also may contribute to discover sources of ecological exposition and to monitor occupational load by heavy metals.     

Cytotoxicity and cell membrane depolarization induced by aluminum oxide nanoparticles in human lung epithelial cells A549

The cytotoxicity of 13 and 22 nm aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles was investigated in cultured human bronchoalveolar carcinoma-derived cells (A549) and compared with 20 nm CeO₂ and 40 nm TiO₂ nanoparticles as positive and negative control, respectively. Exposure to both Al₂O₃ nanoparticles for 24 h at 10 and 25 µg mL^?1 doses significantly decreased cell viability compared with control. However, the cytotoxicity of 13 and 22 nm Al₂O₃ nanoparticles had no difference at 5–25 µg mL^?1 dose range. The cytotoxicity of both Al₂O₃ nanoparticles were higher than negative control TiO₂ nanoparticles but lower than positive control CeO₂ nanoparticles (TiO₂ < Al₂O₃ < CeO₂). A real-time single cell imaging system was employed to study the cell membrane potential change caused by Al₂O₃ and CeO₂ nanoparticles using a membrane potential sensitive fluorescent probe DiBAC₄(3). Exposure to the 13 nm Al₂O₃ nanoparticles resulted in more significant depolarization than the 30 nm Al₂O₃ particles. On the other hand, the 20 nm CeO₂ particles, the most toxic, caused less significant depolarization than both the 13 and 22 nm Al₂O₃. Factors such as exposure duration, surface chemistry, and other mechanisms may contribute differently between cytotoxicity and membrane depolarization.     

雾霾期北京大气中多环芳烃污染特征及暴露风险评估

雾霾对我国尤其是华北平原地区造成了极大的困扰,其发生常以颗粒物浓度急剧增长为特征,给人群健康带来了极大的风险。为进一步阐释雾霾的形成过程及其健康效应,在冬季雾霾期对北京城区大气颗粒态及气态中18种多环芳烃(PAHs)进行了连续测定,同步监测颗粒物、痕量气体污染物以及气象参数的变化,并对PAHs的浓度、组成、气粒分配等大气行为以及其与气象因素的作用机制进行了探讨。北京城区大气气相和颗粒物相中ΣPAHs浓度分别为585 ng·m~(-3)和705 ng·m~(-3)。雾霾发生时,PM_(2.5)浓度升高了3.6倍,PAHs浓度升高了2.6倍,18种PAHs同系物的浓度均随PM_(2.5)的浓度线性增加,其线性相关性受PAHs来源以及氧化活性的影响;夜间较重质量数的PAHs相对比例增加,主要受日间交通源以及夜间燃烧源贡献强度影响。受颗粒物组成以及湿度的影响,雾霾天气下PAHs颗粒相分配率降低。进一步评估了北京城区人群的PAHs吸入健康效应,冬季雾霾频繁发生下其对人群癌症风险为6.2×10~(-5)。