Toxic Metal Levels in Children Residing in a Smelting Craft Village in Vietnam: a Pilot Biomonitoring Study

Overview

Journal BMC Public Health

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialty Public Health

Date 2014 Feb 6

PMID 24495283

Citations 18

Authors

Alison P Sanders

Sloane K Miller

Viet Nguyen

Jonathan B Kotch

Rebecca C Fry

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: In Vietnam, environmental pollution caused by small-scale domestic smelting of automobile batteries into lead ingot is a growing concern. The village of Nghia Lo is a smelting craft village located roughly 25 km southeast of Hanoi in the Red River Delta. Despite the concern of toxic metal exposure in the village, biomonitoring among susceptible populations, such as children, has not been previously conducted. The aim of this study was to determine the body burden of toxic metals in children residing in a smelting craft village.

Methods: Twenty children from Nghia Lo, Vietnam, ages 18 months to four years were selected for capillary whole blood and toenail biomonitoring. Whole blood lead levels (BLLs) were measured using a portable lead analyzer, and toenail levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, and mercury were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

Results: The findings show that all of the 20 children had detectable BLLs, and every child had levels that exceeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline level of 5 μg/dL. Eighty percent of tested subjects had BLLs higher than 10 μg/dL. Five children (25%) had BLLs greater than 45 μg/dL, the level of recommended medical intervention. In addition to blood lead, all of the children had detectable levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, and mercury in toenail samples. Notably, average toenail lead, manganese, and mercury levels were 157 μg/g, 7.41 μg/g, and 2.63 μg/g respectively, well above levels previously reported in children. Significant Spearman's rank correlations showed that there were relationships between blood and toenail lead levels (r = 0.65, p < 0.05), toenail levels of lead and cadmium (r = 0.66, p < 0.05), and toenail levels of manganese and chromium (r = 0.72, p < 0.001). Linear regression showed that reducing the distance to the nearest active smelter by half was associated with a 116% increase in BLL (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: The results suggest that children in battery recycling and smelting craft villages in Vietnam are co-exposed to toxic metals. There is an urgent need for mitigation to control metal exposure related to domestic smelting.

Citing Articles

Associations of Perinatal Metal and Metalloid Exposures with Early Child Behavioral Development Over Time in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study.

Bauer J, Romano M, Jackson B, Bellinger D, Korrick S, Karagas M Expo Health. 2024; 16(1):135-148.

PMID: 38694196 PMC: 11060719. DOI: 10.1007/s12403-023-00543-2.

Assessment and Exposure Analysis of Trace Metals in Different Age Groups of the Male Population in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Hussain S, Khanam T, Ullah S, Aziz F, Sattar A, Hussain I Toxics. 2023; 11(12).

PMID: 38133359 PMC: 10747213. DOI: 10.3390/toxics11120958.

Periconceptional and Prenatal Exposure to Metals and Extracellular Vesicle and Particle miRNAs in Human Milk: A Pilot Study.

Howe C, Armstrong D, Muse M, Gilbert-Diamond D, Gui J, Hoen A Expo Health. 2023; 15(4):731-743.

PMID: 38074282 PMC: 10707483. DOI: 10.1007/s12403-022-00520-1.

Metal Exposures in Residents Living Near an Urban Oil Drilling Site in Los Angeles, California.

Quist A, Ornelas Van Horne Y, Farzan S, Johnston J Environ Sci Technol. 2022; 56(22):15981-15989.

PMID: 36288551 PMC: 9670842. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c04926.

Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil in Preschool Facilities around Industrial Operations, Kuils River, Cape Town (South Africa).

Shezi B, Street R, Webster C, Kunene Z, Mathee A Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(7).

PMID: 35410061 PMC: 8998666. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19074380.

References

Lidsky T, Schneider J . Lead neurotoxicity in children: basic mechanisms and clinical correlates. Brain. 2002; 126(Pt 1):5-19. DOI: 10.1093/brain/awg014. View

Nghia N, Lunestad B, Trung T, Son N, Maage A . Heavy metals in the farming environment and in some selected aquaculture species in the Van Phong Bay and Nha Trang Bay of the Khanh Hoa Province in Vietnam. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008; 82(1):75-9. DOI: 10.1007/s00128-008-9561-z. View

Diaz-Barriga F, Santos M, Mejia J, Batres L, Yanez L, Carrizales L . Arsenic and cadmium exposure in children living near a smelter complex in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Environ Res. 1993; 62(2):242-50. DOI: 10.1006/enrs.1993.1109. View

Pocock S, Smith M, Baghurst P . Environmental lead and children's intelligence: a systematic review of the epidemiological evidence. BMJ. 1994; 309(6963):1189-97. PMC: 2541690. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.309.6963.1189. View

Counter S, Buchanan L . Mercury exposure in children: a review. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 2004; 198(2):209-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.taap.2003.11.032. View

Vellinger C, Parant M, Rousselle P, Usseglio-Polatera P . Antagonistic toxicity of arsenate and cadmium in a freshwater amphipod (Gammarus pulex). Ecotoxicology. 2012; 21(7):1817-27. DOI: 10.1007/s10646-012-0916-1. View

Grosse S, Matte T, Schwartz J, Jackson R . Economic gains resulting from the reduction in children's exposure to lead in the United States. Environ Health Perspect. 2002; 110(6):563-9. PMC: 1240871. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.02110563. View

Landrigan P, Schechter C, Lipton J, Fahs M, Schwartz J . Environmental pollutants and disease in American children: estimates of morbidity, mortality, and costs for lead poisoning, asthma, cancer, and developmental disabilities. Environ Health Perspect. 2002; 110(7):721-8. PMC: 1240919. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.02110721. View

He K . Trace elements in nails as biomarkers in clinical research. Eur J Clin Invest. 2010; 41(1):98-102. PMC: 2998551. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.2010.02373.x. View

10.

Ziegler E, Edwards B, Jensen R, Mahaffey K, FOMON S . Absorption and retention of lead by infants. Pediatr Res. 1978; 12(1):29-34. DOI: 10.1203/00006450-197801000-00008. View

11.

Hu H, Maria Tellez-Rojo M, Bellinger D, Smith D, Ettinger A, Lamadrid-Figueroa H . Fetal lead exposure at each stage of pregnancy as a predictor of infant mental development. Environ Health Perspect. 2006; 114(11):1730-5. PMC: 1665421. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.9067. View

12.

Fowler B, Whittaker M, Lipsky M, Wang G, Chen X . Oxidative stress induced by lead, cadmium and arsenic mixtures: 30-day, 90-day, and 180-day drinking water studies in rats: an overview. Biometals. 2005; 17(5):567-8. DOI: 10.1023/b:biom.0000045740.52182.9d. View

13.

Berg M, Tran H, Nguyen T, Pham H, Schertenleib R, Giger W . Arsenic contamination of groundwater and drinking water in Vietnam: a human health threat. Environ Sci Technol. 2001; 35(13):2621-6. DOI: 10.1021/es010027y. View

14.

Barbosa Jr F, Tanus-Santos J, Gerlach R, Parsons P . A critical review of biomarkers used for monitoring human exposure to lead: advantages, limitations, and future needs. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113(12):1669-74. PMC: 1314903. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.7917. View

15.

Pecze L, Papp A, Nagymajtenyi L, Desi I . Effect of acute administration of certain heavy metals and their combinations on the spontaneous and evoked cortical activity in rats. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2011; 19(3):775-84. DOI: 10.1016/j.etap.2004.12.044. View

16.

Xun P, Liu K, Morris J, Jordan J, He K . Distributions and determinants of mercury concentrations in toenails among American young adults: the CARDIA Trace Element Study. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2012; 20(3):1423-30. PMC: 3556188. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-012-1126-3. View

17.

Lanphear B, Roghmann K . Pathways of lead exposure in urban children. Environ Res. 1997; 74(1):67-73. DOI: 10.1006/enrs.1997.3726. View

18.

Winkel L, Pham T, Vi M, Stengel C, Amini M, Nguyen T . Arsenic pollution of groundwater in Vietnam exacerbated by deep aquifer exploitation for more than a century. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011; 108(4):1246-51. PMC: 3029707. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1011915108. View

19.

Le D, Nguyen D, Harino H, Kakutani N, Chino N, Arai T . Distribution of trace metals and methylmercury in soft tissues of the freshwater eel Anguilla marmorata in Vietnam. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010; 59(2):282-90. DOI: 10.1007/s00244-010-9479-4. View

20.

Wasserman G, Liu X, Factor-Litvak P, Meeks Gardner J, Graziano J . Developmental impacts of heavy metals and undernutrition. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2008; 102(2):212-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2007.00187.x. View