School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2021 Jan 15;208:111721. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111721. Epub 2020 Dec 7.
The City of Yellowknife is a known hotspot of arsenic contamination and there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that local wildlife in the vicinity of the abandoned Giant Mine site may be at risk of decreased bone mineralization and various bone disorders. The purpose of this study was to preliminarily measure bone mineral density (BMD) changes and investigate the incidence, pattern, and severity of bone lesions in wild muskrats and red squirrels breeding in three (3) catchment areas at different distances from the Giant Mine Site in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (Canada): ~2 km (location 1), ~18 km (location 2), and ~40-100 km (location 3). Full femoral bones of 15 muskrats and 15 red squirrels were collected from the three sampling locations (5 from each location) and subjected to radiographic analysis and densitometric measurements. The patterns and severities of bone lesions, including changes in bone mineral density, were evaluated and compared between groups. As levels were significantly higher in the bones of muskrats caught from location 1 and 2, relative to location 3. Further, As and Cd levels were significantly higher in the bones of squirrels caught from locations 1 and 2 relative to squirrels caught from location 3. The preliminary results from bones revealed that radiographic abnormalities such as bone rarefaction, osteopenia, and thinning of the femoral shafts with significant ossific cystic lesions and bowing were the most common skeletal pathologies found in bones of red squirrels from the three locations. Radiographic appearances of massive sclerosis and dysplasia, including severe osteocondensation and osteopathia striata-like abnormalities, were found in the bones of muskrats from all the sampling locations. Densitometric evaluation showed no significant differences between the three locations in the bone parameters measured. However, there was a statistically significant correlation between As content in the bones of muskrats and percent fat content in the femur samples, which suggests that accumulation of As could have been a causal factor for a change in percent fat in femurs of muskrats.
黄刀市是一个已知的砷污染热点地区，越来越多的证据表明，废弃的 Giant 矿场附近的当地野生动物可能面临骨矿物质化减少和各种骨骼疾病的风险。本研究的目的是初步测量骨密度（BMD）变化，并调查在三个不同距离（2 公里（位置 1）、18 公里（位置 2）和 40-100 公里（位置 3））的集水区中繁殖的野生麝鼠和红松鼠的骨病变的发生率、模式和严重程度：2 公里（位置 1），18 公里（位置 2）和~40-100 公里（位置 3）。从三个采样地点（每个地点 5 个）采集了 15 只麝鼠和 15 只红松鼠的完整股骨，并进行了放射分析和密度测量。评估和比较了各组之间的骨病变模式和严重程度，包括骨矿物质密度的变化。由于位置 1 和 2 的麝鼠骨骼中的含量明显高于位置 3，此外，位置 1 和 2 的松鼠骨骼中的 As 和 Cd 含量明显高于位置 3 的松鼠。骨骼的初步结果表明，放射学异常，如骨疏松、骨质疏松和股骨干变薄，伴有明显的骨囊状病变和弯曲，是在三个地点的红松鼠骨骼中最常见的骨骼病理学。在所有采样地点的麝鼠骨骼中发现了骨质硬化和发育不良的放射学表现，包括严重的骨化和骨纹状异常。骨密度评估显示，在测量的骨参数方面，三个地点之间没有显著差异。然而，在麝鼠骨骼中的 As 含量与股骨样本中的脂肪含量百分比之间存在统计学上的显著相关性，这表明 As 的积累可能是麝鼠股骨中脂肪含量百分比变化的一个原因。
