Harati Motahareh, Tabatabaei Jabali Seyed Mohammad, Abdossalami Asl Yousef, Chinichian Mahdi, Donyavi Tahereh, Bahari Niloufar, Jalilvand Hadi, Kassiri Negin, Asadgol Zahra
Health Deputy, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Sport and Exercise Medicine, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 13;20(2):e0317527. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0317527. eCollection 2025.
Arsenic is a widespread environmental contaminant that poses a significant threat to global health due to its toxicity and carcinogenicity. Given the high levels of arsenic found in the drinking water of western areas of Tehran, the objective of this study was to analyze levels of arsenic in multiple biological samples (blood, hair, and nails) collected from residents living in these areas. This cross-sectional study was conducted over three weeks in November 2022 in five villages. A total of 67 residents from these villages were included in the exposure group. Analysis of arsenic was carried out by using the Perkin Elmer Optima 8000 ICP-OES instrument coupled with the FIAS 100 flow injection module after sample digestion. The average concentration of arsenic in people's blood was 4.19 μg/l, which exceeds the standard limit of ATSDR (1 μg/l) by about 4 times. Additionally, 47.8% of blood samples exceeded the standard, while for nail and hair samples, the percentages were 22.4% and 13.4%, respectively. Water samples showed the highest percentage above the standard, with 67.2%. There is no significant relationship between arsenic levels in drinking water, hair and blood. However, a significant positive correlation was observed between the concentration of arsenic in drinking water and nail samples. The mean of hazard quotient (HQ) and carcinogenic risk (CR) indices of arsenic in drinking water suggest that the daily intake levels of the examined arsenic in the study area exceeded the acceptable thresholds ((HQ < 1) and (CR < 1 × 10-4)). Although this study demonstrated elevated arsenic exposure among the population in western Tehran, our findings showed no significant correlation between arsenic concentrations in drinking water and biological samples. Therefore, further research is required to identify other potential exposure pathways and develop targeted intervention strategies. Additionally, remediation measures to improve water quality remain essential in this rural area.
砷是一种广泛存在的环境污染物，因其毒性和致癌性对全球健康构成重大威胁。鉴于德黑兰西部地区饮用水中砷含量较高，本研究的目的是分析从这些地区居民采集的多种生物样本（血液、头发和指甲）中的砷含量。这项横断面研究于2022年11月在五个村庄进行了三周。这些村庄共有67名居民被纳入暴露组。样本消化后，使用配备FIAS 100流动注射模块的珀金埃尔默Optima 8000 ICP-OES仪器对砷进行分析。人们血液中砷的平均浓度为4.19μg/l，超过了美国毒物与疾病登记署的标准限值（1μg/l）约4倍。此外，47.8%的血液样本超过了标准，而指甲和头发样本的超标百分比分别为22.4%和13.4%。水样超标百分比最高，为67.2%。饮用水、头发和血液中的砷含量之间没有显著关系。然而，观察到饮用水中的砷浓度与指甲样本之间存在显著正相关。饮用水中砷的危害商数（HQ）和致癌风险（CR）指数均值表明，研究区域内所检测砷的每日摄入量超过了可接受阈值（（HQ < 1）和（CR < 1×10-4））。尽管本研究表明德黑兰西部人群的砷暴露水平升高，但我们的研究结果显示饮用水中的砷浓度与生物样本之间没有显著相关性。因此，需要进一步研究以确定其他潜在暴露途径并制定有针对性的干预策略。此外，改善水质的修复措施在这个农村地区仍然至关重要。
