Department of Built Environment, North Carolina A&T, Greensboro, NC, 27411, USA.
Psychology Department, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2021 Feb;31(1):158-169. doi: 10.1038/s41370-020-00269-2. Epub 2020 Sep 29.
Marine oil spills and the resulting environmental contamination is common along coastal areas; however, information is lacking about the safety of impacted beaches for public use, especially for the most vulnerable population: children. One route of exposure for children at oil impacted beaches is through contact with sands. The purpose of this study was to evaluate beach sand skin adherence for children under the age of seven. Each of 122 children participated in a hand press trial conducted at one of four different U.S. beaches (two in Miami, FL, and two in Galveston, TX USA). During the hand press trials, hand conditions of the children were randomized (dry, wet, or with sunscreen), and soil adherence (mass of sand per palmar surface area of the hand) and the maximum pressure applied (force applied per area of hand) was measured and calculated. Each child was instructed to press their hands on a soil laden tray for 5 s and pressure of contact was measured using a scale. Results (n = 98) showed that the average soil adherence for both palmar hands across the four beaches ranged from 0.200 to 234 mg/cm with an average of 35.7 mg/cm, with boys (40.4 mg/cm) showing slightly higher means than girls (31.7 mg/cm), but these differences were not significant even after adjusting for age. Among the three conditions evaluated, the highest loading was measured for children with wet hands (mean 65.3 mg/cm), followed by dry hands (mean 24.5 mg/cm). Sunscreen hands (mean 23.2 mg/cm) had the lowest loadings. The pressure of contact ranged from 0.180 to 1.69 psi and varied by age groups and by height and weight, where pressure of contact did not have a significant influence on soil adherence. The average adhered sand grain size and average ambient sand grain size both had a statistically significant impact on hand soil adherence. Overall results from this study can be utilized in exposure and risk assessment models to evaluate the possible health impacts from contaminants found in beach sands.
海洋溢油及其造成的环境污染在沿海地区很常见；然而，关于受影响海滩对公众使用的安全性的信息却很缺乏，尤其是对最脆弱的人群：儿童。儿童在受油影响的海滩上的一种暴露途径是通过接触沙子。本研究的目的是评估 7 岁以下儿童的海滩沙皮肤附着。122 名儿童中的每一名都参加了在美国四个不同海滩（佛罗里达州迈阿密两个，德克萨斯州加尔维斯顿两个）之一进行的手压试验。在手压试验过程中，儿童的手部状况随机（干燥、湿润或涂有防晒霜），测量并计算了土壤附着量（每只手掌表面积的沙量）和施加的最大压力（施加到手面积的力）。每个孩子都被指示将手按在装满土的托盘上 5 秒，并用秤测量接触压力。结果（n=98）表明，四个海滩的两只手掌的平均土壤附着量范围从 0.200 到 234mg/cm，平均为 35.7mg/cm，男孩（40.4mg/cm）的平均值略高于女孩（31.7mg/cm），但即使在调整年龄后，这些差异也没有统计学意义。在所评估的三种情况下，湿手的儿童测量到的负载最高（平均 65.3mg/cm），其次是干手（平均 24.5mg/cm）。防晒霜手（平均 23.2mg/cm）的负载最低。接触压力范围为 0.180 至 1.69psi，因年龄组、身高和体重而异，接触压力对土壤附着没有显著影响。附着沙粒的平均粒径和环境沙粒的平均粒径均对手部土壤附着有统计学显著影响。本研究的总体结果可用于暴露和风险评估模型，以评估海滩沙中发现的污染物对健康的潜在影响。
