Assessment of internal exposure risk from metals pollution of occupational and non-occupational populations around a non-ferrous metal smelting plant  

作　　者：Yingjun Wu Mengdie Qi Hang Yu Guiying Li Taicheng An 

机构地区：[1]Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Joint Laboratory for Contaminants Exposure and Health,Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Health Risk Control,Institute of Environmental Health and Pollution Control,Guangdong University of Technology,Guangzhou 510006,China [2]Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Catalysis and Pollution Control,Key Laboratory for City Cluster Environmental Safety and Green Development,School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Guangdong University of Technology,Guangzhou 510006,China

出　　处：《Journal of Environmental Sciences》2025年第1期62-73,共12页环境科学学报(英文版)

基　　金：supported by the National Key Research and Development Project(Nos.2019YFC1804503 and 2019YFC1804504);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41731279);the Local Innovative and Research Teams Project of Guangdong Pearl River Talents Program(No.2017BT01Z032).

摘　　要：Non-ferrous metal smelting poses significant risks to public health.Specifically,the copper smelting process releases arsenic,a semi-volatile metalloid,which poses an emerging exposure risk to both workers and nearby residents.To comprehensively understand the internal exposure risks of metal(loid)s from copper smelting,we explored eighteen metal(loid)s and arsenic metabolites in the urine of both occupational and non-occupational populations using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with high-performance liquid chromatography and compared their health risks.Results showed that zinc and copper(485.38 and 14.00μg/L),and arsenic,lead,cadmium,vanadium,tin and antimony(46.80,6.82,2.17,0.40,0.44 and 0.23μg/L,respectively)in workers(n=179)were significantly higher compared to controls(n=168),while Zinc,tin and antimony(412.10,0.51 and 0.15μg/L,respectively)of residents were significantly higher than controls.Additionally,workers had a higher monomethyl arsenic percentage(MMA%),showing lower arsenic methylation capacity.Source appointment analysis identified arsenic,lead,cadmium,antimony,tin and thallium as co-exposure metal(loid)s from copper smelting,positively relating to the age of workers.The hazard index(HI)of workers exceeded 1.0,while residents and control were approximately at 1.0.Besides,all three populations had accumulated cancer risks exceeding 1.0×10^(-4),and arsenite(AsIII)was the main contributor to the variation of workers and residents.Furthermore,residents living closer to the smelting plant had higher health risks.This study reveals arsenic exposure metabolites and multiple metals as emerging contaminants for copper smelting exposure populations,providing valuable insights for pollution control in non-ferrous metal smelting.

关 键 词：Arsenic metabolites Metal(loid)s Non-ferrous metal smelting Human biomonitoring Exposure URINE 

分 类 号：TG1[金属学及工艺—金属学]