Cadmium, lead, mercury levels in blood and arsenic levels in urine among school children living in glassworks areas, Sweden

Abstract

TPS 621: Exposure to metals, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Background/Aim: The Kingdom of Cristal, an area in southern Sweden, is historically heavily burdened by heavy metals. Cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic have previously been used in glass production and large amounts of glass crust have been deposited around the Kingdom of Cristal and used as filling material for the construction of new residential areas, parks and schools. The purpose of the project was to monitor whether the high levels in the contaminated soil is reflected in blood and urine among school children in this area. Method Blood and urine samples were collected from 87 children in the autumn of 2017 (2 only urine). The levels of B-Pb, B-Cd and B-totHg were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS; iCAP Q, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bremen, GmbH) equipped with collision cell with kinetic discrimination and helium as collision gas. The speciation of arsenic in urine was performed by ion chromatography (Dionex 5000+, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Bremen, GmbH) coupled to ICP-MS (iQAP Q). Results: The geometric mean of cadmium, lead and mercury in the blood were 0.09 µg/L (max 0.26 µg/L), 9.9 µg/L (max 42 µg/L) and 0,70 (max 2.4 µg/L). The geometric mean of inorganic arsenic (AsIII+AsV) with the metabolites DMA and MMA in urine was 6.1 µg/L and 6.94 µg/g Creatinine. Independent t-tests were performed to compare geometric mean values and children that were not born/raised outside the area had statistically higher levels of cadmium (p-value 0.02) and lead (p-value 0.02) in the blood. Conclusions: The study shows that children in Lessebo municipality have blood levels of lead, cadmium and mercury that correspond to levels generally found in children in Sweden. The levels of inorganic arsenic and its metabolites in urine did not differ compared to studies performed in children in the rest of Europe and the United States.