Ingestion and inhalation of metal(loid)s through preschool gardening: An exposure and risk assessment in legacy mining communities.

Autor: Manjón I; Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States., Ramírez-Andreotta MD; Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States; Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health's Division of Community, Environment & Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States. Electronic address: mdramire@email.arizona.edu., Sáez AE; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States., Root RA; Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States., Hild J; Sierra Streams Institute, Nevada City, CA, United States., Janes MK; California Department of Water Resources, Sacramento, CA, United States., Alexander-Ozinskas A; Sierra Streams Institute, Nevada City, CA, United States.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2020 May 20; Vol. 718, pp. 134639. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Nov 22.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134639
Abstrakt: Children residing in mining towns are potentially disproportionately exposed to metal(loid)s via ingestion and dust inhalation, thus, increasing their exposure when engaging in school or home gardening or playing outside. This citizen science study assessed preschool children's potential arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) exposure via locally grown produce, water, incidental soil ingestion, and dust inhalation at four sites. Participants were trained to properly collect water, soil, and vegetable samples from their preschools in Nevada County, California. As, Cd, and Pb concentrations in irrigation sources did not exceed the U.S. EPA's maximum contaminant and action levels. In general, garden and playground As and Pb soil concentrations exceeded the U.S. EPA Regional Screening Level, CalEPA Human Health Screening Level, and California Department of Toxic Substances Control Screening Level. In contrast, all Cd concentrations were below these recommended screening levels. Dust samples (<10 μm diameter) were generated from surface garden and playground soil collected at the preschools by a technique that simulated windblown dust. Soil and dust samples were then analyzed by in-vitro bioaccessibility assays using synthetic lung and gastric fluids to estimate the bioaccessible fraction of As, Cd, and Pb in the body. Metal(loid) exposure via grown produce revealed that lettuce, carrot, and cabbage grown in the preschool gardens accumulated a higher concentration of metal(loid) than those store-bought nation-wide. None of the vegetables exceeded the respective recommendation maximum levels for Cd and Pb set by the World Health Organization Codex Alimentarius Commission. The results of this study indicate that consumption of preschool-grown produce and incidental soil ingestion were major contributors to preschool-aged children's exposure to As, Cd, and Pb. Traditionally, this level of site- and age-specific assessment and analyses does not occur at contaminated sites. The results of this holistic risk assessment can inform future risk assessment and public health interventions related to childhood metal(loid) exposures.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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