Institute and Clinic for Occupational-, Social- and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Ziemssenstr. 1, D-80336, Munich, Germany.
Center for International Health, LMU University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Jan;29(3):4762-4768. doi: 10.1007/s11356-021-15940-w. Epub 2021 Aug 19.
People living and working in artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) areas are frequently exposed to elemental mercury (Hg), which is used for gold extraction. However, additional exposure to other toxic metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) may result from mining-related activities and could be ingested via dust, water or food. In these areas, only limited biomonitoring data is available for toxic metals other than Hg. In particular, data about the exposure to As, Cd and Pb is unavailable for the Zimbabwean population. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in two ASGM areas in Zimbabwe to evaluate the internal exposure to these metals. In total, urine and blood samples from 207 people that identified themselves as miners were collected and analysed for As and Cd in urine as well as Pb in blood by GF-AAS. Median levels (interquartile ranges in μg/l) of As and Pb were 9.7 μg/l (4.0, 18.5) and 19.7 μg/l (12.5, 34.5), respectively. The 25th percentile and the median for Cd were below the limit of detection (0.5 μg/l); the 75th percentile was at 0.9 μg/l. The results were compared to reference values found for the general population in the USA and Germany, and a significant number of participants exceeded these values (As, 33 %; Cd, 27 %; Pb, 32 %), indicating a relevant exposure to toxic metals. Although not representative for the Zimbabwean population, our results demonstrate that the exposure to toxic metals is relevant for the public health in Zimbabwe and requires further investigation.
在手工和小规模采金（ASGM）地区生活和工作的人经常接触到用于提取黄金的元素汞（Hg）。然而，由于与采矿相关的活动，可能会额外接触到其他有毒金属，如砷（As）、镉（Cd）和铅（Pb），并可能通过灰尘、水或食物摄入。在这些地区，除汞以外的有毒金属的生物监测数据非常有限。特别是，津巴布韦人口接触 As、Cd 和 Pb 的数据尚不清楚。因此，我们在津巴布韦的两个 ASGM 地区进行了一项横断面研究，以评估这些金属的内部暴露情况。总共采集了 207 名自称为矿工的人的尿液和血液样本，并通过石墨炉原子吸收光谱法（GF-AAS）分析尿液中的 As 和 Cd 以及血液中的 Pb。As 和 Pb 的中位数（μg/l 四分位距）分别为 9.7 μg/l（4.0，18.5）和 19.7 μg/l（12.5，34.5）。Cd 的第 25 百分位数和中位数低于检测限（0.5 μg/l）；第 75 百分位数为 0.9 μg/l。将结果与美国和德国普通人群的参考值进行比较，发现有相当数量的参与者超过了这些值（As，33%；Cd，27%；Pb，32%），表明接触有毒金属的情况较为严重。尽管这些结果不能代表津巴布韦的整个人口，但它们表明接触有毒金属对津巴布韦的公共健康有一定影响，需要进一步调查。
