Assessment of Heavy Metal Exposure to Residents around Abandoned Metal Mines

Abstract

TPS 621: Exposure to metals, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background/Aim: Abandoned metal mines are areas of great concern for the health effects of residents due to hazardous substances such as heavy metals. The purpose of this study was to compare the exposure of heavy metals to residents of the abandoned metal mines and general population through National Health Survey. Methods: We examined 4,499 residents of the abandoned mines of 2nd phase health effects survey of abandoned metal mines (AMS, ‘13~’17). We used data from the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey (KNHANES, ‘12, ‘13, ‘16) and the Korean national environmental health survey (KNEHS ‘09~’15). Based on the gender and age distribution of AMS, KNHANES (n=980) and KNEHS (n=1,412) were randomly sampled for the same distribution. The geometric mean concentrations (95% confidence interval) of blood lead, blood cadmium, urinary cadmium, and urinary arsenic concentration were presented, the excess proportion was given by reference to the 95th percentile concentration of the general population. Results: The geometric mean concentration of lead in blood was significantly higher in AMS than those of the general population (AMS: 2.27(2.24-2.30)a μg/dL; KNHANES: 2.11(2.06-2.17)b μg/dL; KNEHS: 2.23(2.18-2.29)b μg/dL; p<0.001). The geometric mean concentration of blood cadmium in AMS was also higher than those of the general population (AMS: 1.42(1.40-1.44) μg/L; KNHANES: 1.24(1.20-1.28) μg/L; p<0.001), and cadmium in urine was remarkably different and statistically significant (AMS: 1.47(1.42-1.53) μg/L; KNEHS: 0.47(0.45-0.49) μg/L; p<0.001). Conclusions: The concentration of heavy metals in residents of the abandoned metal mines was higher than those of the general population. We considered the routes of exposure of crops ingestion, groundwater intake, soil contact, and inhalation of scattered dust in contaminated environment. Therefore, continuous individual and national management are needed to evaluate the health risks of residents in the abandoned metal mine areas.