National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, P.O. Box 1, 3720, BA, Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Sci Total Environ. 2016 Sep 1;563-564:405-12. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.100. Epub 2016 May 1.
In 2011, an artificial hook-shaped peninsula of 128ha beach area was created along the Dutch coast, containing thousands of iron ore lumps, which include arsenic from natural origin. Elemental arsenic and inorganic arsenic induce a range of toxicological effects and has been classified as proven human carcinogens. The combination of easy access to the beach and the presence of arsenic raised concern about possible human health effects by the local authorities. The objective of this study is therefore to investigate human health risks from the presence of arsenic-containing iron ore lumps in a beach setting. The exposure scenarios underlying the human health-based risk limits for contaminated land in The Netherlands, based on soil material ingestion and a residential setting, are not appropriate. Two specific exposure scenarios related to the playing with iron ore lumps on the beach ('sandcastle building') are developed on the basis of expert judgement, relating to children in the age of 2 to 12years, i.e., a worst case exposure scenario and a precautionary scenario. Subsequently, exposure is calculated by the quantification of the following factors: hand loading, soil-mouth transfer effectivity, hand-mouth contact frequency, contact surface, body weight and the relative oral bioavailability factor. By lack of consensus on a universal reference dose for arsenic for use in the stage of risk characterization, three different types of assessments have been evaluated: on the basis of the current Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake (PTWI), on the basis of the Benchmark Dose Lower limit (BMDL), and by a comparison of exposure from the iron ore lumps with background exposure. It is concluded, certainly from the perspective of the conservative exposure assessment, that unacceptable human health risks due to exposure to arsenic from the iron ore lumps are unlikely and there is no need for risk management actions.
2011 年，荷兰沿海地区人工形成了一个 128 公顷海滩区域的钩状半岛，其中包含数千块铁矿石，这些铁矿石含有天然来源的砷。元素砷和无机砷会引起一系列毒理学效应，已被归类为已证实的人类致癌物。海滩上容易接触到这些铁矿石，以及砷的存在，引起了当地当局对可能的人类健康影响的关注。因此，本研究的目的是调查海滩环境中含砷铁矿石对人类健康的风险。基于土壤物质摄入和居住环境的荷兰污染土地基于人类健康的风险限制所依据的暴露情景并不适用。基于专家判断，针对在海滩上玩铁矿石（“沙堡建造”）的两种特定暴露情景，即儿童 2 至 12 岁之间的最坏情况暴露情景和预防情景，开发了两个特定的暴露情景。随后，通过量化以下因素来计算暴露：手部装载、土壤-口腔转移效率、手部-口腔接触频率、接触表面积、体重和相对口腔生物利用度因子。由于在风险特征阶段使用的砷普遍参考剂量缺乏共识，因此评估了三种不同类型的评估：基于当前暂定每日耐受摄入量（PTWI）、基于基准剂量下限（BMDL），以及通过比较铁矿石中的暴露与背景暴露。结论是，当然从保守的暴露评估角度来看，由于暴露于铁矿石中的砷而导致的不可接受的人类健康风险不太可能存在，因此无需采取风险管理措施。
