Abstract
The objective of the current study is the determination of the personal exposure and dose of ambient particulate matter-bound metals in human tissues at five European cities. The accumulation in human body of lead (Pb), arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd), in five European cities (Athens, Seville, Rome, Frankfurt and Zabrze) was calculated using an exposure and dose assessment model, ExDoM, and a pharmacokinetic model, PBPK. The study subjects are adult Caucasian nonsmoker males. It was calculated that the highest dose of particulate matter is received from a resident of Seville, due to the higher ambient PM10 levels in the city compared to the other sites. First, the current study showed that the European Union thresholds of particle-bound Pb, Cd and As concentrations were not exceeded in the cities under study. As regard the dose of Pb and As the higher dose is calculated for Athens and Seville, respectively. The highest dose of Cd is found at Zabrze, due to the high industrial activity in the city. It was calculated that after one day of exposure, the highest accumulation of Pb occurred in blood, muscles and bones. Furthermore, the highest deposition of Cd occurred in the lungs and intestines and for As in the lung and muscles. The heavy metals intake, calculated in this study, was very low in comparison with the recommended WHO levels for heavy metals intake from all types of exposure (inhalation, ingestion).
Highlights
Urbanization and population growth, have led to densely populated cities with high elevated anthropogenic gaseous and particulate matter emissions
The current study focus on toxic metals associated with ambient particulate matter such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As)
Between the European cities studied in the current study, the highest dose in the respiratory tract has a resident in Seville (3.56 × 102 μg), Frankfurt (3.22 × 102 μg), Zabrze (2.74 × 102 μg), Rome (2.81 × 102 μg) and Athens (1.73 × 102 μg), respectively for the pre-described 24 h exposure scenario
Summary
Urbanization and population growth, have led to densely populated cities with high elevated anthropogenic gaseous and particulate matter emissions. The levels of particulate matter are elevated in big cities and due to human activity they are enriched with heavy metals. Many epidemiological studies (Pope, 2000; Brunekreef, 2005; Davidson, 2005) studied the risk of health impacts of particulate matter to human health. How dangerous atmospheric particulate matter is for human health depends mainly on its size and on its chemical composition. The wide range of particles sizes and their complex chemical composition and morphology makes the relation between them and health impacts a complex process (Solomon, 2011). Accumulation of particulate matter compounds, like heavy
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