Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Da Saúde, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Laboratório de Ensaios Farmacológicos e Toxicológicos, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Mar;28(11):13562-13569. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-11514-4. Epub 2020 Nov 13.
Selenium (Se) presents a dual role to human body, harmful or beneficial, depending on its concentration. The exposure to this element has been associated to coal mining. Health risk assessment allows estimating and evaluating the risks that environmental hazards pose to vulnerable groups of populations. The present study aimed to analyze the risk of exposure to Se through multiple exposure pathways in children living in Candiota city, where the largest coal reserve of Brazil is located. Data from previous environmental (air, soil, drinking water, and food) and population parameters (age, weight, and food intake) were used to assess the health risk, which was calculated with real values (extracted from the population) and fixed reference values, based on the USEPA recommendation. Most of the children had low health risk (HQ < 1); however, in the most conservative scenarios (higher Se values in the different matrices), there was a high health risk in both scenarios, using population data or the USEPA parameters. The mean HQ using reference values was twice higher than using real values. Se content in air, soil, and drinking water did not represent important average daily dose in both scenarios. While, food intake was a main source of Se exposure, contributing with 96.9% of total Se intake. The findings of this study reinforce the importance of food intake for exposure to Se and the difference between HQs using population measures and fixed parameters of the USEPA highlights the need for adaptations to local scenarios for a better dimensioning of toxicological risk management actions.
硒（Se）对人体具有双重作用，其浓度取决于其对人体的有益还是有害。接触这种元素与煤矿开采有关。健康风险评估可用于估计和评估环境危害对弱势群体造成的风险。本研究旨在分析居住在巴西最大煤炭储量所在地坎迪奥塔市的儿童通过多种暴露途径接触硒的风险。利用先前的环境（空气、土壤、饮用水和食物）和人口参数（年龄、体重和食物摄入量）的数据来评估健康风险，该风险是根据美国环保署的建议，使用真实值（从人群中提取）和固定参考值计算得出的。大多数儿童的健康风险较低（HQ<1）；然而，在最保守的情况下（不同矩阵中硒值较高），在使用人群数据或美国环保署参数的情况下，两种情况下的健康风险都很高。使用参考值的平均 HQ 是使用实际值的两倍。在这两种情况下，空气中、土壤中和饮用水中的硒含量都没有成为平均日剂量的主要来源。然而，食物摄入是接触硒的主要来源，占总硒摄入量的 96.9%。本研究的结果强调了食物摄入对硒暴露的重要性，以及使用人群测量值和美国环保署固定参数的 HQ 之间的差异，突出了需要适应当地情况，以更好地进行毒理学风险管理行动。
