Abstract
Exposure to mercury (Hg)-contaminated soils may pose a health risk to children by way of oral, dermal, and inhalatory pathways. However, risk characterization studies, including contaminant bioaccessibility with child-specific exposure parameters and scenarios, are lacking. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess children's Hg exposure using characterization and oral bioaccessibility data from Hg-contaminated soils characterized in previous studies (n = 8); and (2) to characterize probabilistic risk in terms of hazard index (HI) considering ingestion, dermal, and inhalation pathways. Total Hg concentrations in soils ranged from 2.61 to 1.15 × 104 mg kg-1. For moderately contaminated soils (S1-S5: Hg ≤ 12.15 mg kg-1), low oral bioaccessibility values (1.5-7.5 %) lead to HI < 1 in all scenarios. However, exposure to highly contaminated soils (S6-S8) may pose serious risks to children under normal exposure (HI 0.89-66.5) and soil-pica behaviour scenarios (HI up to 131). All three pathways significantly contributed to the risk. Using total Hg concentrations in calculations (assuming 100 % bioavailability) instead of considering Hg bioavailability leads to risk overestimation. Further research on oral, inhalatory, and dermal bioavailability of Hg, as well as child play behaviour, is recommended to obtain more accurate risk estimates.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 345-355 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology |
| Volume | 65 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
- Pollution
- Toxicology
Cite this
Children's exposure to mercury-contaminated soils : Exposure assessment and risk characterization. / Guney, Mert; Welfringer, Bruno; De Repentigny, Carl; Zagury, Gerald J.
In: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 65, No. 2, 08.2013, p. 345-355.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Children's exposure to mercury-contaminated soils
T2 - Exposure assessment and risk characterization
AU - Guney, Mert
AU - Welfringer, Bruno
AU - De Repentigny, Carl
AU - Zagury, Gerald J.
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - Exposure to mercury (Hg)-contaminated soils may pose a health risk to children by way of oral, dermal, and inhalatory pathways. However, risk characterization studies, including contaminant bioaccessibility with child-specific exposure parameters and scenarios, are lacking. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess children's Hg exposure using characterization and oral bioaccessibility data from Hg-contaminated soils characterized in previous studies (n = 8); and (2) to characterize probabilistic risk in terms of hazard index (HI) considering ingestion, dermal, and inhalation pathways. Total Hg concentrations in soils ranged from 2.61 to 1.15 × 104 mg kg-1. For moderately contaminated soils (S1-S5: Hg ≤ 12.15 mg kg-1), low oral bioaccessibility values (1.5-7.5 %) lead to HI < 1 in all scenarios. However, exposure to highly contaminated soils (S6-S8) may pose serious risks to children under normal exposure (HI 0.89-66.5) and soil-pica behaviour scenarios (HI up to 131). All three pathways significantly contributed to the risk. Using total Hg concentrations in calculations (assuming 100 % bioavailability) instead of considering Hg bioavailability leads to risk overestimation. Further research on oral, inhalatory, and dermal bioavailability of Hg, as well as child play behaviour, is recommended to obtain more accurate risk estimates.
AB - Exposure to mercury (Hg)-contaminated soils may pose a health risk to children by way of oral, dermal, and inhalatory pathways. However, risk characterization studies, including contaminant bioaccessibility with child-specific exposure parameters and scenarios, are lacking. The objectives of this study were (1) to assess children's Hg exposure using characterization and oral bioaccessibility data from Hg-contaminated soils characterized in previous studies (n = 8); and (2) to characterize probabilistic risk in terms of hazard index (HI) considering ingestion, dermal, and inhalation pathways. Total Hg concentrations in soils ranged from 2.61 to 1.15 × 104 mg kg-1. For moderately contaminated soils (S1-S5: Hg ≤ 12.15 mg kg-1), low oral bioaccessibility values (1.5-7.5 %) lead to HI < 1 in all scenarios. However, exposure to highly contaminated soils (S6-S8) may pose serious risks to children under normal exposure (HI 0.89-66.5) and soil-pica behaviour scenarios (HI up to 131). All three pathways significantly contributed to the risk. Using total Hg concentrations in calculations (assuming 100 % bioavailability) instead of considering Hg bioavailability leads to risk overestimation. Further research on oral, inhalatory, and dermal bioavailability of Hg, as well as child play behaviour, is recommended to obtain more accurate risk estimates.
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U2 - 10.1007/s00244-013-9891-7
DO - 10.1007/s00244-013-9891-7
M3 - Article
VL - 65
SP - 345
EP - 355
JO - Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
JF - Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
SN - 0090-4341
IS - 2
ER -