Moon J, Davison A J, Smith T J, Fadl S
Faculty of Applied Sciences, School of Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 1988 Jun 15;72:87-112. doi: 10.1016/0048-9697(88)90009-5.
Scalp hair samples taken from 122 children and 27 adults from three native Indian villages in northern Alberta, Canada were analyzed for 32 metals, in an attempt to trace industrial pollution into the human population. One of the villages has been exposed since 1967 to increased levels of several metals due to its proximity to the world's first two oil sands petroleum extraction plants (Suncor and Syncrude), which release large amounts of metals into the environment. Metal-enriched particulates are emitted at a rate of 547-780 kg h-1 for Suncor, and 713-1067 kg h-1 for Syncrude. To test the hypothesis that hair content reflected accumulation of environmental metals, water and aerometric samples were collected and analyzed for their metal content. These analyses demonstrated that elevated levels of nine metals in hair from children in one of the control villages (Garden River) are (with the exception of Al) correlated with increased levels of metals in water and air. Moreover, increased levels of Cu, but lowest levels of all other metals were found in hair and environmental samples from one control village (Fort Chipewyan). Correlation matrices for metals in the hair samples revealed three sets of highly intercorrelated metals ('correlation clusters'): (i) Pb/Cd; (ii) Al/V/Fe; (iii) Ca/Mg/Sr/Ba. These groups of metals were significantly intercorrelated (r greater than 0.6, p less than 0.001) in the total population, and in both children and adults, or both males and females, as well as when the population was compared according to community of residence. The robustness of the clusters is particularly noteworthy in view of large differences in the proportions and absolute amounts of the various metals in hair from children in the three villages. Plots of metal levels in hair as a function of age of subject reveal a dramatic decrease in concentrations of Al, V, and Fe during the first years of life. The high levels of Al and V in hair from very young children may reveal a lower selectivity in metal absorption, and a higher risk of toxicity during a period of rapid growth when need for nutritionally essential metals is particularly high.
从加拿大阿尔伯塔省北部三个印第安原住民村庄的122名儿童和27名成年人身上采集了头皮毛发样本，对其中32种金属进行了分析，试图追踪工业污染对人群的影响。自1967年以来，其中一个村庄由于靠近世界上最早的两座油砂石油提炼厂（森科尔公司和辛克鲁德公司），接触到的几种金属含量有所增加，这两家工厂会向环境中释放大量金属。森科尔公司金属富集颗粒的排放速率为每小时547 - 780千克，辛克鲁德公司为每小时713 - 1067千克。为了验证头发中的金属含量反映环境金属积累这一假设，采集了水样和气态样本并分析其金属含量。这些分析表明，在其中一个对照村庄（花园河村）儿童头发中，九种金属含量升高（铝除外）与水和空气中金属含量增加相关。此外，在另一个对照村庄（奇佩瓦扬堡村）的头发和环境样本中，发现铜含量增加，但其他所有金属含量最低。毛发样本中金属的相关矩阵显示出三组高度相互关联的金属（“相关簇”）：（i）铅/镉；（ii）铝/钒/铁；（iii）钙/镁/锶/钡。在总体人群中，以及在儿童和成年人、男性和女性中，或者根据居住社区对人群进行比较时，这些金属组之间都存在显著的相互关联（r大于0.6，p小于0.001）。鉴于三个村庄儿童头发中各种金属的比例和绝对含量存在很大差异，这些簇的稳健性尤其值得注意。以受检者年龄为函数绘制的头发中金属含量图显示，在生命的最初几年，铝、钒和铁的浓度急剧下降。幼儿头发中高含量的铝和钒可能表明在快速生长阶段，金属吸收的选择性较低，而此时对营养必需金属的需求特别高，因此中毒风险也更高。
