Exposure and Health最新文献

Smoking is the primary source of cadmium (Cd) exposure, however, there are unexplained differences in urinary Cd (uCd) levels that persist by sociodemographic characteristics. We characterized uCd levels across geographic regions and sociodemographic categories to better identify sources and contributors. We include 6729 adults from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) with uCd measured at the baseline exam (2000-2002) and covariate information. Percentage difference (95% confidence interval) of uCd levels were computed by established factors using linear regression models. The overall median (IQR) of uCd was 0.53 (0.36, 0.80) μg/g creatinine. uCd levels differed significantly by age, sex, cigarette use, and race/ethnicity, not by study site or dietary factors. In fully adjusted models, participants > 62 years (mean age) had 20% (16%, 22%) higher uCd levels compared to those ≤ 62 years; females had 71% (67%, 76%) higher uCd compared to males. Compared to never smoking, participants with current and former cigarette use had 46% (40%, 52%) and 9% (6%, 13%) higher uCd, respectively. Chinese and Hispanic participants had 81% (73%, 89%) and 6% (2%, 9%) higher uCd, respectively, compared with White participants. Chinese participants had higher levels than other self-reported race/ethnicities, particularly among younger participants, females, never smoking or other tobacco product use, and those born outside of the United States. Smoking continues to have important implications for Cd burden among the general population. Our results highlight non-smoking Chinese women and Chinese participants born outside the US are a particularly vulnerable subgroup affected by higher long-term Cd exposure and body burden.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a focus of biomonitoring studies globally. In Australia, population PFAS serum concentrations have been determined since 2002 using pooled de-identified serum samples (n = 4800) collected from the population bi-annually, as a component of the Australian Human Biomonitoring (HBM) project. Locations of environmental PFAS contamination ('PFAS hotspots') are known to exist in Australia, but the extent of human exposure at many of these hotspots remains unknown. This study assesses if systematic use of geographical pooling of surplus pathology samples can be effective to identify if elevated PFAS exposure has occurred in populations residing near 'PFAS hotspots'. De-identified surplus pathology serum samples (n > 1800) were obtained and pooled from postcodes near three 'PFAS hotspots'. Samples were analyzed for PFAS and compared with the Australian HBM project. Selected PFAS were consistently higher compared to the Australian HBM project in pools from two of the three 'PFAS hotspots', suggesting that these populations may have experienced elevated exposure to PFAS. This study demonstrates that targeted serum pooling can be an effective tool for determining indications of population exposure to persistent chemicals in communities at risk. The technique has the potential to be used for rapid surveillance and as a trigger for further investigations of populations in proximity to sites with known contamination.

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Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12403-025-00712-5.

For the first time, this study reports the content of tropane alkaloids (TAs) in soybean and soymeal samples sourced from 13 different countries, as well as in various cereals (including corn, millet, wheat, and sorghum) and a product (Super Cereals). The analysis was conducted using a fully validated solid-liquid extraction (SLE) with dilute-and-shoot (DnS) method along with a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) triple quadrupole system. The samples were extracted using a solution of acetonitrile and water (60:40) with 1% formic acid. The limits of quantification (LOQ) were 0.10 µg kg^-1 and 0.25 µg kg^-1 for atropine and scopolamine, respectively. The extraction recovery was at least 80%, and the intra- and inter-day precision (relative standard deviation) were below 15% at 1, 5, and 50 µg kg^-1 atropine and scopolamine spiked levels. The validation parameters showed that the method was fit for the purpose of accurate LC-MS/MS quantification of atropine and scopolamine. The SLE with DnS is high-throughput, enabling the extraction of TAs in 2.3 min per sample or at least 60 samples in 140 min. Whereas typical TA extraction methods require lengthy and costly clean-up and concentration steps, the DnS does not require these steps, sophisticated equipment, or an expert operator for execution, which makes it a simpler and straightforward procedure for TA analysis in different grain-based food matrices. Application of the LC-MS/MS method showed that one in 80 millet or corn, 18 in 269 soybeans, 20 in 62 soymeal and 20 in 42 Super Cereals samples had atropine and scopolamine above the maximum level of 1 μg kg^-1 set by the EU Commission Regulation. TA contamination in these samples could either be due to the mixing with (visible) or exposure to (invisible) TA-producing plant material. The latter was proven through an exposure experiment, which showed that atropine and scopolamine from Datura stramonium seeds can be transferred to food grains (soybeans) invisibly with prolonged contact.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12403-025-00718-z.

The Gold King Mine Spill (GKMS) disaster resulted in three million gallons of acid mine drainage-containing arsenic and lead being released into a tributary of the San Juan River. The San Juan River flows through the Navajo Nation and the Diné (Navajo) rely on this river for a variety of purposes lending to unique exposure pathways. We administered questionnaires in three Navajo communities in collaboration with the Navajo Nation Community Health Representatives to obtain frequency and duration data on 43 activities (e.g., praying with river water, fishing from the river). These activities were utilized to conduct a community-based probabilistic risk assessment from exposure to arsenic (As) and lead at three different time points (i.e., pre-GKMS, peak-GKMS, and post-GKMS) for four different exposure scenarios: 1) recreational, 2) cultural, 3) dietary, and 4) aggregate. The aggregate scenario combines exposure from engaging in recreational, cultural, and dietary related activities. Utilizing the Lifeline Community-Based Assessment Software ^™ distributions were incorporated for different exposure factors (e.g., hand-to-mouth contacts, transfer efficiency) along with Diné-specific activities (e.g., using the sediment as sunscreen) to estimate dose. The estimated lead and arsenic (As) hazard quotients (HQs) for the recreational, cultural, and dietary scenario for all time points were less than one, indicating no excess non-cancer risks. Only the dietary scenario resulted in an excess cancer risk, with less than 1% of the simulated estimates exceeding the 1 × 10^-04 cancer risk guideline from exposure to arsenic through the dietary scenario (e.g., consuming fish from the San Juan River) at all time points. This risk assessment is the first to incorporate the unique exposure pathways of the Diné people following the GKMS and highlights the need to incorporate community-specific pathways during the risk analysis process.

In Bangladesh most agronomic biomass (straw, husk, dried dung) is burnt for domestic cooking use. Consequently, the soil is continuously stripped of mineral nutrients and carbon (C) substrate. Here we investigate if recycling of household ash (ash) as fertilizer can sustainably improve soil fertility as well as minimise accumulation of toxic elements (As, Cd) in rice grain. Large scale field trials across two geographic regions (Barind, Madhupur) and two seasons (wet, dry) and with application of 3 fertiliser treatments (NPKS, ash, NPKS + ash) were conducted. At the end of each season, the impact of region*season*treatment on soil microbial comunities, rice yield, and grain quality (As, Cd, nutrient elements) was assessed. When compared to conventional field application rates of NPKS (control), application of ash boosted rice yield by circa. 20% in both regions during wet and dry season, with no effect on rice grain carcinogenic inorganic arsenic (iAs), dimethylarsonic acid (DMA) or cadmium (Cd), but with potential to increase zinc (Zn). For soil microbial communities, a significant region and season effect as well as correlation with elements in rice grain was observed, amongst these Cd, Zn, iAs and DMA. This study illustrates that application of ash can reduce the requirement for expensive chemical fertiliser, whilst at the same time increasing rice yield and maintaining grain quality, making farming in Bangladesh more sustainable and productive. The study also implies that the combined impact of region, season, and soil microbes determines accumulation of elements in rice grain.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12403-023-00539-y.