Publication:
Biomonitoring of arsenic, cadmium and lead in two artisanal and small-scale gold mining areas in Zimbabwe

dc.contributor.authorRakete, Stefan
dc.contributor.authorMoonga, Given
dc.contributor.authorWahl, Anna-Maria
dc.contributor.authorTobollik, Myriam
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-16T13:31:17Z
dc.date.available2024-06-16T13:31:17Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractPeople living and working in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas are frequently exposed to elemental mercury (Hg), which is used for gold extraction. However, additional exposure to other toxic metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) may result from mining-related activities and could be ingested via dust, water or food. In these areas, only limited biomonitoring data is available for toxic metals other than Hg. In particular, data about the exposure to As, Cd and Pb is unavailable for the Zimbabwean population. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in two ASGM areas in Zimbabwe to evaluate the internal exposure to these metals. In total, urine and blood samples from 207 people that identified themselves as miners were collected and analysed for As and Cd in urine as well as Pb in blood by GF-AAS. Median levels (interquartile ranges in (micro)g/l) of As and Pb were 9.7 (micro)g/l (4.0, 18.5) and 19.7 (micro)g/l (12.5, 34.5), respectively. The 25th percentile and the median for Cd were below the limit of detection (0.5 (micro)g/l); the 75th percentile was at 0.9 (micro)g/l. The results were compared to reference values found for the general population in the USA and Germany, and a significant number of participants exceeded these values (As, 33 %; Cd, 27 %; Pb, 32 %), indicating a relevant exposure to toxic metals. Although not representative for the Zimbabwean population, our results demonstrate that the exposure to toxic metals is relevant for the public health in Zimbabwe and requires further investigation. © 2021, The Author(s)en
dc.format.extent1 Onlineressource (7 Seiten)
dc.format.mediumonline resource
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.60810/openumwelt-302
dc.identifier.urihttps://openumwelt.de/handle/123456789/3223
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
dc.subjectBewässerung
dc.subjectBiomonitoring
dc.subjectBlei
dc.subjectBlut
dc.subjectCadmium
dc.subjectExposition
dc.subjectLebensmittel
dc.subjectMetall
dc.subjectNachweisgrenze
dc.subjectQuecksilber
dc.subjectQuerschnittsstudie
dc.subjectReferenzwertüberschreitung
dc.subjectSchadstoffbelastung
dc.subjectToxische Metalle
dc.subjectWasser
dc.subjectSimbabwe
dc.titleBiomonitoring of arsenic, cadmium and lead in two artisanal and small-scale gold mining areas in Zimbabwe
dc.typeWissenschaftlicher Artikel
dc.type.dcmitext
dc.type.mediumcomputer
dspace.entity.typePublication
local.bibliographicCitation.journalTitleEnvironmental science and pollution research
local.bibliographicCitation.originalDOI10.1007/s11356-021-15940-w
local.bibliographicCitation.volume29 (2022)
local.collectionAufsätze
local.contributor.authorId02184805
local.contributor.authorId02188721
local.contributor.authorId02188722
local.identifier.catalogId02487080
local.ingest.leader07979naa a2200000uu 4500
local.jointTitleBIOMONITORING OF ARSENIC CADMIUM AND LEAD IN TWO ARTISANAL AND SMALLSCALE GOLD MINING AREAS IN ZIMBABWE
local.reviewtrue
local.sourcecatalog
local.source.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
local.staffPublicationtrue
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationde469eb3-88b1-4476-8744-9189af960108
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryde469eb3-88b1-4476-8744-9189af960108
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