School of Environmental Studies (SOES), Jadavpur University, Kolkata 700032, India.
J Hazard Mater. 2013 Nov 15;262:1048-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.10.002. Epub 2012 Oct 11.
This report summarizes recent findings of environmental arsenic (As) contamination and the consequent health effects in a community located near historic gold mining activities in the Mangalur greenstone belt of Karnataka, India. Arsenic contents in water, hair, nail, soil and food were measured by FI-HG-AAS. Elemental analyses of soils were determined by ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry). Of 59 tube-well water samples, 79% had As above 10 μg L(-1) (maximum 303 μg L(-1)). Of 12 topsoil samples, six were found to contain As greater than 2000 mg kg(-1) possibly indicating the impact of mine tailings on the area. All hair and nail samples collected from 171 residents contained elevated As. Arsenical skin lesions were observed among 58.6% of a total 181 screened individuals. Histopathological analysis of puncture biopsies of suspected arsenical dermatological symptoms confirmed the diagnosis in three out of four patients. Based on the time-course of As-like symptoms reported by the community as well as the presence of overt arsenicosis, it is hypothesized that the primary route of exposure in the study area was via contaminated groundwater; however, the identified high As content in residential soil could also be a significant source of As exposure via ingestion. Additional studies are required to determine the extent as well as the relative contribution of geologic and anthropogenic factors in environmental As contamination in the region. This study report is to our knowledge one of the first to describe overt arsenicosis in this region of Karnataka, India as well as more broadly an area with underlying greenstone geology and historic mining activity.
本报告总结了印度卡纳塔克邦芒格洛尔绿岩带附近一个历史上有金矿开采活动的社区的环境砷（As）污染及其对健康的影响的最新发现。采用氢化物发生-原子荧光法（FI-HG-AAS）测定水、头发、指甲、土壤和食物中的砷含量。采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法（ICP-MS）对土壤元素进行分析。在 59 个管井水样中，有 79%的水样砷含量超过 10μg/L（最高达 303μg/L）。在 12 个表土样本中，有 6 个样本的砷含量大于 2000mg/kg，这可能表明矿区尾矿对该地区造成了影响。从 171 位居民中采集的所有头发和指甲样本均含有较高的砷。在总共 181 位接受筛查的人中，有 58.6%的人出现砷性皮肤损伤。对疑似砷性皮肤病症状的穿刺活检进行组织病理学分析，在 4 位患者中有 3 位确诊。根据社区报告的砷样症状的时间进程以及明显的砷中毒，推测该研究地区的主要暴露途径是受污染的地下水；然而，在居住土壤中发现的高砷含量也可能是通过摄入导致砷暴露的重要来源。需要开展更多研究，以确定该地区地质和人为因素在环境砷污染中的程度和相对贡献。本研究报告据我们所知，首次描述了印度卡纳塔克邦芒格洛尔绿岩带这一地区以及更广泛的具有绿岩地质和历史采矿活动地区的明显砷中毒。
