The Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Monitoring and Disease Control, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, China.
The Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, Jiangsu, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2021 Sep;28(36):50489-50499. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-14273-y. Epub 2021 May 7.
Exposure to arsenic-contaminated air and food caused by the burning of coal in unventilated indoor stoves is a major environmental public health concern in Guizhou Province, China. The liver is one of the main target organs for coal-fired arsenic exposure; however, there is little information about the risk assessment between cumulative arsenic exposure and the prevalence of liver damage. This study first evaluated the chronic daily intake (CDI) for two exposure pathways (inhalation and ingestion) and five environmental media (i.e., indoor and outdoor air, drinking water, rice, corn, and chili peppers) in 1998, 2006, 2014, and 2017. Then, the dose-effect and dose-response relationship between hair arsenic (HA) and cumulative arsenic (CA) levels and liver damage was analyzed. The results clearly show that the CDI in 1998 was 34.9 μg·kg·d, 22.9 μg·kg·d in 2006, 11.7 μg·kg·d in 2014, and 6.7 μg·kg·d in 2017 in the arsenic exposure area. All of these values were higher than the daily baseline level of 3.0 μg·kg·d as recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), and the increased HA and CA can increase the risk of coal-fired arsenic-induced liver damage. In addition, we analyzed the possible maximum acceptable CA exposure level for coal-fired arsenic-induced liver damage using the Bayesian benchmark dose. The recommended maximum acceptable CA exposure level for liver damage caused by coal-burning arsenic is 7120 mg. This study provides scientific insight into understanding the dose-response relationship of liver damage caused by coal-burning arsenic exposure and the monitoring and prevention of arsenic poisoning.
在中国贵州省，由于在通风不良的室内炉灶中燃烧煤炭，导致人们暴露于受砷污染的空气和食物中，这是一个主要的环境公共卫生问题。肝脏是煤炭砷暴露的主要靶器官之一；然而，关于累积砷暴露与肝损伤患病率之间的风险评估的信息很少。本研究首先评估了 1998 年、2006 年、2014 年和 2017 年两种暴露途径（吸入和摄入）和五种环境介质（室内和室外空气、饮用水、大米、玉米和辣椒）的慢性日摄入量（CDI）。然后，分析了头发砷（HA）和累积砷（CA）水平与肝损伤之间的剂量-效应和剂量-反应关系。结果清楚地表明，1998 年的 CDI 为 34.9μg·kg·d，2006 年为 22.9μg·kg·d，2014 年为 11.7μg·kg·d，2017 年为 6.7μg·kg·d，这些值均高于 FAO/WHO 食品添加剂联合专家委员会（JECFA）建议的每日基准水平 3.0μg·kg·d，并且增加的 HA 和 CA 会增加煤炭燃烧砷引起的肝损伤的风险。此外，我们使用贝叶斯基准剂量分析了煤炭燃烧砷引起的肝损伤可能的最大可接受 CA 暴露水平。推荐的最大可接受的 CA 暴露水平为 7120mg，可预防由燃煤砷引起的肝损伤。本研究为理解煤炭燃烧砷暴露引起的肝损伤的剂量-反应关系以及砷中毒的监测和预防提供了科学依据。
