Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Belgrade University, Bulevar Oslobodjenja 18, 11000, Belgrade, Republic of Serbia.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2010 Jun;17(5):1119-28. doi: 10.1007/s11356-009-0274-6. Epub 2009 Dec 13.
BACKGROUND, AIM AND SCOPE: The paper presents concentrations of trace elements in blood of homebred animals (cows and sheep) from Southern Serbia (Bujanovac) and the contents of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides and some heavy metals in feed. The region of Southern Serbia was exposed to contamination by depleted uranium ammunition during NATO attacks in 1999 and therefore, is of great concern to environmental pollution and human and animal health.
Conventional instrumental and epithermal neutron activation analyses are used to measure trace elements in cow and sheep blood samples collected randomly at six locations in the region of Bujanovac (village of Borovac) in the spring of 2005. Samples of feed (grass and crops: corn, wheat and oats), collected on the same locations (households), are analysed for the contents of radionuclides on an HPGe detector (Ortec, relative efficiency 23%) by standard gamma spectrometry. The content of Hg, Pb and Cd in feed is determined by standard atomic absorption spectrometry on the VarianSpectra220/ThermoSolar GFS97 spectrometer.
Concentrations of 29 elements (Na, Al (P), Cl, K, Sc, Cr, Mn, Ni, Fe, Co, Zn, Se, As, Br, Sr, Rb, Sb, In, I, Ba, Cs, La, Nd, Eu, Sm, Tb, Hf, Ta and Th) are determined in blood of the examined animals. In feeds, natural (40)K is found in all of the samples, cosmogenic (7)Be and fission product (137)Cs are detected only in the grass samples, while heavy metals Hg, Cd and Pb are found in the range of 0.01-0.02, 0.84-1.15 and 0.74-7.34 mg/kg, respectively. Calculated soil-to-blood transfer factors are in a wide range of 8 x 10(-6) to 64, as a result of varying significance of the elements in animal metabolism and feeding habits.
The results of trace elements' concentrations in animal blood are in good agreement with available data for K, Ni, Zn, Se and Rb. Higher Br concentrations in animal blood are most probably caused by large biomass burning events during blood sampling. Very low concentration of Fe in cows and sheep confirms the results of previous biochemical studies on animal anaemia in the region. High concentration of As correlates with geochemical peculiarities of the Balkans and is also likely influenced by the use of pesticides in the agricultural production. For some of the elements (La, Nd, Eu, Sm, Tb, Sb, Hf, Ta, Th, In, Ba, Sr, Sc and Cs), there are few or no literature data. Therefore, some of the presented data are significant not only for the country and the region, but on a wider scale. Activities of natural radionuclides in feeds are within the average values reported for the region, while the activities of (210)Pb and (235/238)U are below the limit of detection. This is in accordance with previous investigations showing no widespread contamination by depleted uranium in the area. Contents of Hg and Pb in feeds are below the nationally permissible levels, unlike the content of Cd which exceeds it, probably caused by the use of phosphate fertilisers and fossil fuel combustion in the area.
In general, the concentrations of trace elements in blood of homebred cows and sheep are in good agreement with reference materials, available literature data and the results of previous studies in the area. The exceptions are Fe, As and Br. The contents of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides in feeds are within the expected levels, and there are no signs of contamination by depleted uranium or other fission products. Apart from Cd, there are no signs of pollution by heavy metals in feeds. The highly sensitive method of instrumental neutron activation analysis provides data on the concentration of some elements in animal blood not previously reported for the region and elsewhere.
The presented study is a part of the long term ongoing project on the health risk assessment on animals and humans in the region. The collected data is intended to provide a base for the animal and human risk assessment as well as an estimate of the general pollution status of the environment in the region. Since some of the investigated elements are classified as important trace elements for livestock, the results could also be used to balance and improve the animal diet and thus, improve the growth and reproduction rate.
背景、目的和范围：本文介绍了塞尔维亚南部（布亚诺瓦茨）家养动物（牛和羊）血液中的微量元素浓度以及饲料中的天然和人为放射性核素和一些重金属含量。塞尔维亚南部地区在 1999 年北约袭击期间遭受贫铀弹药污染，因此对环境污染以及人类和动物健康极为关注。
采用常规仪器和热中子活化分析方法，于 2005 年春季在布亚诺瓦茨地区（博洛瓦茨村）的六个地点随机采集牛和羊血液样本，测量其中微量元素的含量。在同一地点（家庭）采集饲料（草和作物：玉米、小麦和燕麦）样本，使用 HPGe 探测器（Ortec，相对效率 23%）通过标准伽马谱法分析放射性核素含量。在 VarianSpectra220/ThermoSolar GFS97 光谱仪上用标准原子吸收光谱法测定饲料中 Hg、Pb 和 Cd 的含量。
检测动物血液中确定了 29 种元素（Na、Al（P）、Cl、K、Sc、Cr、Mn、Ni、Fe、Co、Zn、Se、As、Br、Sr、Rb、Sb、In、I、Ba、Cs、La、Nd、Eu、Sm、Tb、Hf、Ta 和 Th）的浓度。在所有样本中均发现了天然（40）K，在草样本中仅检测到宇宙成因（7）Be 和裂变产物（137）Cs，而 Hg、Cd 和 Pb 重金属的含量分别在 0.01-0.02、0.84-1.15 和 0.74-7.34mg/kg 范围内。计算得出的土壤向血液的转移因子在 8 x 10(-6) 到 64 之间变化很大，这是由于动物代谢和饮食习惯中各元素的重要性不同。
动物血液中微量元素浓度的结果与 K、Ni、Zn、Se 和 Rb 的可用数据一致。动物血液中 Br 浓度较高可能是由于血液采样期间发生了大规模的生物质燃烧事件。牛和羊血液中 Fe 浓度非常低证实了该地区先前关于动物贫血的生化研究结果。高浓度的 As 与巴尔干半岛的地球化学特性有关，也可能受到农业生产中农药使用的影响。对于某些元素（La、Nd、Eu、Sm、Tb、Sb、Hf、Ta、Th、In、Ba、Sr、Sc 和 Cs），文献数据很少或没有。因此，一些所呈现的数据不仅对国家和该地区具有重要意义，而且在更广泛的范围内也具有重要意义。饲料中天然放射性核素的活度在该地区报告的平均值范围内，而（210）Pb 和（235/238）U 的活度低于检测限。这与先前的研究结果一致，表明该地区没有广泛的贫铀污染。饲料中 Hg 和 Pb 的含量低于国家允许水平，而 Cd 的含量则超过了允许水平，这可能是由于该地区使用了磷酸盐肥料和化石燃料燃烧造成的。
一般来说，家养牛和羊血液中微量元素的浓度与参考材料、可用文献数据和该地区以前的研究结果一致。Fe、As 和 Br 是例外。饲料中天然和人为放射性核素的含量在预期水平内，没有贫铀或其他裂变产物污染的迹象。除了 Cd 之外，饲料中没有重金属污染的迹象。仪器中子活化分析的高灵敏度方法提供了该地区以前未报告的一些元素在动物血液中的浓度数据。
本研究是对该地区动物和人类健康风险评估的长期持续项目的一部分。收集的数据旨在为动物和人类风险评估以及该地区环境的一般污染状况评估提供基础。由于一些被调查的元素被归类为牲畜的重要微量元素，因此结果也可用于平衡和改善动物饮食，从而提高生长和繁殖率。
