Environmental exposure to uranium in a population living in close proximity to gold mine tailings in South Africa.

Autor: Zupunski L; International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch, WHO, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, CEDEX 08, Lyon 69372, France., Street R; South African Medical Research Council, Environment and Health Research Unit, Health Clinic Building, University of Johannesburg, 55 Beit Street, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa., Ostroumova E; International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch, WHO, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, CEDEX 08, Lyon 69372, France., Winde F; North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, Research Unit Environmental Science and Management, Vanderbijlpark Campus, North-West University, P.O. Box 1174, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa; Wismut GmbH, Engineering and Radiation Protection, Jagdschänkenstraße 29, Chemnitz 09117, Germany., Sachs S; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Resource Ecology, Bautzner Landstraße 400, Dresden 01328, Germany., Geipel G; Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Resource Ecology, Bautzner Landstraße 400, Dresden 01328, Germany., Nkosi V; South African Medical Research Council, Environment and Health Research Unit, Health Clinic Building, University of Johannesburg, 55 Beit Street, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa., Bouaoun L; International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch, WHO, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, CEDEX 08, Lyon 69372, France., Haman T; South African Medical Research Council, Environment and Health Research Unit, Health Clinic Building, University of Johannesburg, 55 Beit Street, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa., Schüz J; International Agency for Research on Cancer, Environment and Lifestyle Epidemiology Branch, WHO, 150 Cours Albert Thomas, CEDEX 08, Lyon 69372, France., Mathee A; South African Medical Research Council, Environment and Health Research Unit, Health Clinic Building, University of Johannesburg, 55 Beit Street, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa; Environmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Health Clinic Building, 55 Beit Street, Doornfontein 2028, South Africa. Electronic address: amathee@mrc.ac.za.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Journal of trace elements in medicine and biology : organ of the Society for Minerals and Trace Elements (GMS) [J Trace Elem Med Biol] 2023 May; Vol. 77, pp. 127141. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Feb 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127141
Abstrakt: Background: Gold mining activities in South Africa resulted in contamination of residential environment with uranium-rich wastes from mine tailings. Health of the people living around the mine tailings could be affected by uranium exposure due to its hazardous chemotoxic and radiological properties.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess i) uranium (U) concentrations in individual hair samples of children and adults living in close proximity to mine tailings in Northeast- Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa, and ii) the association between U concentrations in hair and various factors, including zone of residence, socio-demographic and housing characteristics. Sampling sites were divided into three zones based on the distance between a dwelling and a cluster of mine tailings (zone 1: <= 500 m, zone 2: 2-3 km away, zone 3: 4-5 km away). U concentrations in hair samples were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. To test the association between U concentrations and selected factors we used robust regression models with log-transformed U concentrations.
Results: Among 128 subjects with available U measurements, 63 (49%) were children (ages 7-15 years) of which 38 were girls, the remaining 65 (51%) were adult females. Mean (median) U concentration in hair samples was 143 (92) µg/kg. In the mutually adjusted analyses, only an inverse association between age and U concentration in hair remained statistically significant, with geometric mean in children being 2.1 times higher compared to adults (P < 0.001). There was no evidence of an association between zones and U concentration (P = 0.42).
Conclusions: There was little evidence of association between U concentration in hair and distance from the mine tailings within the 5 km range, but overall concentrations were elevated compared to general population samples in other parts of the world. Children had statistically significantly higher geometric mean of uranium concentration in hair compared to adults. The results are important for improvement of mining waste policies and implementation of health monitoring and protective measures in populations at risk.
Article Category: Research Article.
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 © 2023. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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