Human Health Risk Assessment Due to Agricultural Activities and Crop Consumption in the Surroundings of an Industrial Area Abstract The present work integrates concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE) (i.e. As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) from (i) environmental media (i.e. soil, crops) and (ii) human hair. The aim was to assess whether agricultural soil and vegetable quality are related to risks to human health from different exposures pathways and if there are any signs of it in human hair. Domestic vegetable gardens in the surroundings Estarreja chemical complex (ECC), Municipality of Estarreja, central Portugal, were the selected for the current study. Data analysis of two soil fractions (2 mm and < 63 µm) and of three different vegetables (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Solanum tuberosum, L. and Brassica oleracea, L.) samples were used. Agricultural soils in the ECC surrounding present high concentrations of As, Cu, Hg and Pb (mg/kg: up to 532, 103, 13.7 and 109, respectively). The high PTE concentrations in soils and horticultural crops are chiefly related to historical industrial activities, mostly from arsenopyrite roasting and a chloralkali plant. The assessment of risks to human health for ECC-surrounding residents (children 4–8 years old; elderly adults > 55 years old) showed that agricultural soil-dust ingestion induces a high-non-carcinogenic risk (HI) for As (HI up to 41 and 4.4, for children and adult, respectively), Pb (HI up to 2.5 for children) and Hg (HI up to 1.3 for children) and carcinogenic risk (CR) for As (10−3 for both age groups). Exposure through consumption of tomatoes and potatoes grown in the study soils does not present a high health hazard. However, exposure to As through consumption of cabbage presents both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks for both studied age groups (CR > 10−4 and HI > 1.1). It is likely that hair As and Hg concentrations increases in both children and adults can be related to the ingestion of agricultural soil and cabbage, and inhalation or dermal contact with contaminated soil. Nonetheless, this assumption requires further investigation, including on other potential sources of contaminants for the local population, such as dietary intake of other foodstuffs. Hair Cr content in the adult group of residents showed maximum values above the normal range for non-exposed individuals, as well as high mean and median values which may be related to the high Cr content in the studied foods. The exposure study results are in agreement with As and Hg concentrations in both children and adults hair and validate it as a biomarker of As and Hg local environmental exposure.

The Effect of Natural Geochemical Background on Neurological and Mental Health Abstract The natural geochemical (geogenic) background is exerted through the local drinking water, food grown on the local soils and the atmospheric aerosols inhaled. The misbalance of certain elements, in the most acute case, may lead to the development of so-called ‘endemic’ symptoms and diseases. Compared to anthropogenic contamination, the effect of the geogenic background may have an implicit character due to its not extreme, chronic and pervading action. Moreover, the brain must be viewed somewhat separately to the other body organs from the toxicological point of view because of the specific protective blood–brain (hematoencephalic) barrier. Nowhere is homeostasis and the control of the constant of internal milieu more pronounced than in the brain. However, certain metal compounds, presumably of lipophilic character, can overcome the natural defence and are especially dangerous to the nervous system. The neurologically detrimental geogenic excess was determined and assumed for Al, As, Ba, Cd, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, Se, Tl and Zn. Moreover, deficiency of certain elements can cause disturbances to the brain functioning. These elements are Cu, Fe, I, Li and Se. There are also elements for which small-dose neurological effects were described and the natural geochemical anomalies have been reported. These are B, Br, Rb, Sn and, possibly, others. Nevertheless, the information on their chronic environmental neurological activity is still a matter of future studies. In this review, we focus on the geogenic background as a cause of neurological and mental effects on human health.

Correction to: Human-Based Exposure Levels of Perfluoroalkyl Acids May Induce Harmful Effects to Health by Disrupting Major Components of Androgen Receptor Signalling In Vitro The current title reads: Human-Based Exposure Levels of Perfluoroalkyl Acids May Induce Harmful Effects to Health by Disrupting Major Components Androgen Receptor Signalling In Vitro. However the correct title should be: Human-Based Exposure Levels of Perfluoroalkyl Acids May Induce Harmful Effects to Health by Disrupting Major Components of Androgen Receptor Signalling In Vitro. As seen, there is an “of” missing in the title between words “component” and “androgen”.

Exposure Assessment of Rayong Oil Spill Cleanup Workers Abstract In July of 2013, a pipeline connecting an offshore oil platform to a tanker caused crude oil to spill into the Sea of Rayong off the coast of Thailand. The resulting oil slick, estimated to be between 50 and 190 m3 (336–1200 barrels), washed ashore 1 day later on the island of Samet. We conducted a study to quantify internal dose of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and benzene in 1262 oil spill cleanup workers, and to examine factors related to their dose. Frozen stored urine samples (n = 1343) collected from the workers during the 1 month cleanup period were used to measure the concentration of 1-hydroxypyrene-glucuronide (1-OHPG), cotinine and creatinine. Data from questionnaires and urinary trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA), a benzene metabolite, measured previously as part of a worker health surveillance plan, were linked with the laboratory data. The internal dose of urinary 1-OHPG was highest in individuals who worked during the first 3 days of cleanup work (median 0.97 pmol/ml) and was 66.7% lower (median 0.32 pmol/ml) among individuals who worked in the final week of the study (days 21–28). After adjusting for age, cotinine and creatinine by regression analysis, the decline in urinary 1-OHPG concentration with days of cleanup remained significant (P-trend < 0.001). A decreasing trend by days of cleanup was also observed for detectable urinary t,t-MA percentage (P-trend < 0.001). Rayong oil spill cleanup workers exhibited evidence of elevated levels of PAH and benzene exposure during the early weeks of cleanup, compared to near background levels 4 weeks after cleanup began. Long-term health monitoring of oil spill cleanup workers is advised.

Correction to: Toxic Metals and Omega-3 Fatty Acids of Bluefin Tuna from Aquaculture: Health Risk and Benefits The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. Under section, ‘Estimated Weekly Intake (EWI),’ the value 150 g should be corrected as 100 g in the sentences ‘The weekly consumption value for fish…’ and ‘where WFC is the weekly fish consumption …’. Likewise under section, ‘Target Hazard Quotient (THQ),’ the data (21.43 g/person/day) should be (14.26 g/person/day).

Predictors of Urinary Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Concentrations: NHANES 2001–2006 Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous air pollutants formed during incomplete combustion, absorbed through inhalation and ingestion, and metabolized to hydroxylated compounds that can be detected in urine. Biomonitoring data provide a direct way to link human exposure to environmental contaminants. However, these data do not reveal how various exposure routes or media contribute to the body burden of a specific chemical. We evaluated predictors of urinary PAH concentrations in 2001–2006 NHANES participants from reported information on demographic and housing characteristics, reported food intake, and modeled outdoor air pollutant exposures. NHANES participants were linked to their daily PM2.5 exposure estimate and annual air toxics concentrations. Multivariate linear regression models were developed using the Deletion/Substitution/Addition algorithm to predict urinary PAHs. Exposure to air pollution was not associated with levels of urinary PAH metabolites. Current smoking status was the strongest predictor of PAH biomarker concentration and was able to explain 10–47% of the variability of PAH biomarker concentrations. In non-smokers, our prediction models were able to explain only 2–5% of the variability of PAH biomarker concentrations. Overall, our results indicated, with the exception of smoking status, there are not strong demographic, dietary, or environmental predictors of PAH exposure.

Source Identification of Trace Elements in Peri-urban Soils in Eastern China Abstract The source identification of trace elements in peri-urban soils has not been fully explored, especially for the areas in eastern China. Here, 80 soil samples, including 40 from cropland, 11 from orchards and 29 from forests, were collected in a typical peri-urban catchment, Ningbo, eastern China. The concentrations of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn), Pb isotopes and basic soil properties were measured for each soil sample. Multivariate analysis of correlation, regression, principal component analysis and isotopic tracers were used. The results showed that the concentrations of trace elements significantly differed based on land uses, especially for Cd, Cu and Zn. For the seven trace elements, the Cd, Cu and Zn in crop soils are contaminant elements. In the peri-urban soils, Cr and Ni are dominated by parent material and paedogenic processes. Difference in As and Pb concentrations between land uses maybe attributed to atmospheric deposition induced by fossil fuel combustion. Applications of fertilisers, calcium phosphate and calcium superphosphate, livestock manure and compost, are the dominant sources of pollutants in peri-urban soils, especially for Cd, Cu and Zn, indicating the key point for pollution control for this area. Calcium and P are effective indicators of Cd, Cu and Zn contamination for the peri-urban catchment.

Distribution, Sources and Health Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Household Dusts from Rural, Semi-urban and Urban Areas in the Niger Delta, Nigeria Abstract Dusts from rural, semi-urban and urban areas of the Niger Delta, Nigeria were investigated for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compositional patterns and sources, and risk of human exposure to PAHs in home dusts through non-dietary ingestion, inhalation and dermal contact pathways. The PAHs in the dust samples were extracted by ultra-sonication with hexane/dichloromethane and cleaned up on a silica gel/alumina column. The concentrations of the PAHs in the extracts were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The Σ16 PAH concentrations in these household dusts varied from 60.0 to 1473, 124 to 2131 and 4531 to 111,914 µg kg−1 for the rural, semi-urban and urban areas, respectively. The characteristic PAH distribution pattern in the household dusts from urban areas followed the order: 4 > 6 > 5 > 3 > 2 rings, while in the semi-urban and rural areas, the distribution patterns followed the order: 3 > 6 > 4 > 5 > 2 rings and 5 > 6 > 4 > 3 > 2 rings, respectively. The benzo[a]pyrene carcinogenic potency concentration of PAHs in dusts from homes in these areas varied from 161 to 3288 µg kg−1, while the mutagenic potency concentration values varied between 154 and 3466 µg kg−1. The estimated lifetime cancer risk values arising from exposure to PAHs in dust in homes from rural, semi-urban and urban areas were larger than the target value of 10−6 (one chance in a million of equally exposed persons of the risk of suffering cancer or cancer-related diseases). Principal component analysis of the results suggested that the sources of PAHs in the dust from homes included cooking fuels and traffic emissions.

Fingernail Trace Element Content in Environmentally Exposed Individuals and Its Influence on Their Cognitive Status in Ageing Abstract The aim of this study was to identify links between potential long-term environmental exposure to mixed contamination and the neuropsychological performance of a group of adults (> 55 years old) living near an industrial facility. Fifty-eight permanent residents were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination and Clinical Dementia Rating scale (CDR) tests. Human biomonitoring involved the measurement of trace elements in fingernails to determine exposure. Only fingernail Hg contents of the Estarreja group are above the mean content found for non-exposed and healthy centenaries populations, although several outlier values were observed for the majority of the elements. From the total of individuals recruited for the study, 29% obtained a 0 score on CDR indicating a normal status, 34% scored 0.5 which is suggestive of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 22% had a cognitive performance indicative of mild dementia, and 14% fall under the categories of moderate and severe dementia. Principal component analysis and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) were combined to identify groups of correlated variables discriminating well the cognitive functions examined by the different neuropsychological tests. The results obtained show that fingernails’ data discriminate well between CDR scores for normal and altered cognitive statuses, and further suggest that elevated levels of Mn and Zn in fingernails of the elderly residents of Estarreja are associated to a condition of severe dementia. The poor discriminating ability of the MDA model for intermediate categories of the cognitive tests (MCI, mild dementia) may be attributed either to a lack of sensitivity of the cognitive tests for the screening of these intermediate conditions or to the similar Zn and Mn contents in fingernail observed in participants falling under such categories.

Risk of Dietary Mercury Exposure via Marine Fish Ingestion: Assessment Among Potential Mothers in Malaysia Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a very toxic heavy metal that can permanently damage the brain of a developing fetus, particularly through maternal fish consumption. Being the highest seafood consumers in South East Asia, Malaysian mothers are probably at Hg exposure risk. Hence, this study was undertaken to assess the health risk associated with Hg from marine fish consumption and the types of fish that could possibly increase the exposure dose. Assessment was done among potential mothers (n = 311) in the coastal rural and urban parts of Selangor, the most dense and developed state of Malaysia. Coastal rural women consumed significantly higher amounts of fish than their urban counterparts (164.0 vs. 111.7 g/day, p = 0.03) with Indian mackerel and torpedo scad being the most consumed species. These species also contributed to the highest average daily dose (ADD) of Hg. Consistent with the fish intake rate, coastal rural women were also clearly at higher risk of Hg exposure than their urban counterparts. The fish species that contributed to a significant Hg dose for both respondent groups was Indian mackerel. In addition, torpedo scad, yellow-banded scad, fourfinger threadfin, and golden snapper were the other species that significantly increased the exposure dose among coastal rural women, whereas for urban women, it was Indian scad, Japanese threadfin bream, and pale-edged stingray. Although the HQ calculated based on THg was lower than the unity HQ = 1.0, the identified species should be consumed with caution, especially by sensitive population groups.