engleski

Heavy metal exposure monitoring of residents of Slavonski Brod

The objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure of heavy metals of the inhabitants of Slavonski Brod, Croatia, living within close proximity and somewhat further away from an oil refinery. Concentrations of Ni, Cr, V, Mn, Tl and Pb were analyzed in blood/serum, urine and hair and results were compared between these two groups of subjects. In 2018, heavy metals were analyzed in 40 subjects from Slavonski Brod. The study subjects were divided into two gender- and age-matched groups, assigned as "exposed" (N=20 ; 16 women and 4 men, aged 52.4±13.8 years) and control or "less exposed" (N=20 ; 16 women and 4 men, aged 54.9±16.1 years), according to the proximity of the oil refinery and meteorological data on wind directions (wind rose plot). The Ni, Cr, V, Mn, Tl and Pb concentrations were analyzed in whole blood or serum, urine and hair using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The reference values used for evaluation of metal exposure were from the German Biomonitoring Commission, the Mayo Medical Laboratories and the ARUP Laboratories (USA), London Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (Canada) and Mediziniche Labor Bremen (Germany). The difference between the groups was tested using student t-test, after logarithmic transformation of variables that did not follow normal distribution. The concentrations of the analyzed elements in blood, serum, urine and hair were generally within the expected reference ranges, except for Pb, which was > 90 µg/L in 4 subjects in the “exposed” group. There were statistically significant differences between the control and “exposed” subjects for Pb in serum (0.047 [0.023-0.113] µg/L vs. 0.056 [0.028-0.267] µg/L ; t=-2.07 ; p<0.05), Pb in urine (0.68 [0.10- 1.92] µg/g crea vs. 1.02 [0.35-8.39] µg/g crea ; t=-2.59 ; p<0.02), V in hair (20.8±10.2 µg/L vs. 13.8±9.15 ; t=2.30 ; p<0.027), Mn in blood (9.18 [6.12-30.3] µg/L vs.8.31 [4.57-10.9] ; t=2.64 ; p<0.02). There was no difference in the concentrations of other metals in urine, hair, serum and blood between the groups. Significant differences were found for several metals between the groups of subjects living in Slavonski Brod and at different distances from an oil refinery. However, to evaluate the possible impact of the refinery on metal exposure, a larger number of the city’s residents as well as additional groups of subjects living at greater distances from the refinery should be included.

heavy metals, oil refinery, Croatia

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