PMID- 32146362
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20200710
LR  - 20200710
IS  - 1873-6424 (Electronic)
IS  - 0269-7491 (Linking)
VI  - 262
DP  - 2020 Jul
TI  - Anthropogenic contamination of residential environments from smelter As, Cu and 
      Pb emissions: Implications for human health.
PG  - 114235
LID - S0269-7491(19)35812-9 [pii]
LID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114235 [doi]
AB  - Communities in low-income and middle-income countries (LMIC) are 
      disproportionally affected by industrial pollution compared to more developed 
      nations. This study evaluates the dispersal and associated health risk of 
      contaminant-laden soil and dust at a copper (Cu) smelter in Tsumeb, Namibia. It 
      is Africa's only smelter capable of treating complex Cu ores that contain high 
      arsenic (As) contents (<1%). The analyses focused on the primary trace elements 
      associated with ore processing at the smelter: As, Cu, and lead (Pb). Portable 
      X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) of trace elements in soils (n = 83) and 
      surface dust wipes (n = 80) showed that elemental contamination was spatially 
      associated with proximity to smelter operations. Soil concentrations were below 
      US EPA soil guidelines. Dust wipe values were elevated relative to sites distal 
      from the facility and similar to those at other international smelter locations 
      (As = 1012 mug/m(2) (95% CI 687-1337); Cu = 1838 mug/m(2) (95% CI 1191-2485); 
      Pb = 1624 mug/m(2) (95% CI 862-2385)). Source apportionment for Pb contamination 
      was assessed using Pb isotopic compositions (PbIC) of dust wipes (n = 22). These 
      data revealed that the PbIC of 73% (n = 16/22) of these wipes corresponded to the 
      PbIC of smelter slag and tailings, indicating contribution from industrial 
      emissions to ongoing exposure risk. Modeling of carcinogenic risk showed that 
      dust ingestion was the most important pathway, followed by inhalation, for both 
      adults and children. Dermal contact to trace elements in dust was also determined 
      to pose a carcinogenic risk for children, but not adults. Consequently, 
      contemporary smelter operations remain an ongoing health risk to the surrounding 
      community, in spite of recent efforts to improve emissions from the operations.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
FAU - Fry, Kara L
AU  - Fry KL
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and 
      Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
FAU - Wheeler, Cassandra Anne
AU  - Wheeler CA
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and 
      Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
FAU - Gillings, Max M
AU  - Gillings MM
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and 
      Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
FAU - Flegal, A Russell
AU  - Flegal AR
AD  - Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, WIGS, University of California Santa 
      Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, United States.
FAU - Taylor, Mark Patrick
AU  - Taylor MP
AD  - Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and 
      Engineering, Macquarie University, North Ryde, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia. 
      Electronic address: mark.taylor@mq.edu.au.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20200220
PL  - England
TA  - Environ Pollut
JT  - Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
JID - 8804476
RN  - 0 (Dust)
RN  - 0 (Metals, Heavy)
RN  - 0 (Soil)
RN  - 0 (Soil Pollutants)
RN  - 2P299V784P (Lead)
RN  - N712M78A8G (Arsenic)
SB  - IM
MH  - Adult
MH  - Arsenic/*analysis
MH  - Child
MH  - Dust/analysis
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - Humans
MH  - Lead
MH  - Metals, Heavy/*analysis
MH  - Namibia
MH  - Soil
MH  - Soil Pollutants/*analysis
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Pb isotopic compositions
OT  - Smelter emissions
OT  - contamination
OT  - health risk modeling
OT  - trace elements
COIS- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known 
      competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared 
      to influence the work reported in this paper.
EDAT- 2020/03/09 06:00
MHDA- 2020/07/11 06:00
CRDT- 2020/03/09 06:00
PHST- 2019/10/08 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2020/02/16 00:00 [revised]
PHST- 2020/02/17 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2020/03/09 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2020/07/11 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2020/03/09 06:00 [entrez]
AID - S0269-7491(19)35812-9 [pii]
AID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114235 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Pollut. 2020 Jul;262:114235. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114235. Epub 2020 
      Feb 20.