Division of Toxicology, Swedish National Food Administration, Box 622, S-751 26 Uppsala, Sweden.
Environ Sci Technol. 2010 Sep 1;44(17):6875-80. doi: 10.1021/es1010384.
Elevated concentrations of arsenic in drinking water are common worldwide, however, little is known about the presence of other potentially toxic elements. We analyzed 31 different elements in drinking water collected in San Antonio de los Cobres and five surrounding Andean villages in Argentina, and in urine of the inhabitants, using ICP-MS. Besides confirmation of elevated arsenic concentrations in the drinking water (up to 210 microg/L), we found remarkably high concentrations of lithium (highest 1000 microg/L), cesium (320 microg/L), rubidium (47 microg/L), and boron (5950 microg/L). Similarly elevated concentrations of arsenic, lithium, cesium, and boron were found in urine of the studied women (N=198): village median values ranged from 26 to 266 microg/L of arsenic, 340 to 4550 microg/L of lithium, 34 to 531 microg/L of cesium, and 2980 to 16,560 microg/L of boron. There is an apparent risk of toxic effects of long-term exposure to several of the elements, and studies on associations with adverse human health effects are warranted, particularly considering the combined, life-long exposure. Because of the observed wide range of concentrations, all water sources used for drinking water should be screened for a large number of elements; obviously, this applies to all drinking water sources globally.
饮用水中砷浓度升高在世界范围内很常见，但人们对其他潜在有毒元素的存在知之甚少。我们使用 ICP-MS 分析了在阿根廷圣安东尼奥德洛斯科布雷斯和五个周边安第斯村庄采集的饮用水和居民尿液中的 31 种不同元素。除了确认饮用水中砷浓度升高（高达 210 微克/升）外，我们还发现锂（最高 1000 微克/升）、铯（320 微克/升）、铷（47 微克/升）和硼（5950 微克/升）的浓度也非常高。在研究的女性尿液中（N=198）也发现了砷、锂、铯和硼的浓度升高：村庄中位数值范围为 26 至 266 微克/升的砷、340 至 4550 微克/升的锂、34 至 531 微克/升的铯和 2980 至 16560 微克/升的硼。长期接触这些元素中的几种元素显然存在有毒作用的风险，有必要对其与不良人类健康影响的关联进行研究，特别是考虑到长期的综合暴露。由于观察到的浓度范围很广，所有用于饮用水的水源都应该对大量元素进行筛查；显然，这适用于全球所有的饮用水源。
