Abstract
BackgroundContamination of cow milk with uranium (U) is attracting global attention owing to U’s radio-toxicity and chemical toxicity in humans and animals. Concentrations of U in 223 cow milk samples from indigenous breeds reared in the proximity of a U mine in Zambia were measured using the inductively coupled mass spectrometry, and the human health risks from exposure to U through milk consumption were assessed.ResultsMilk from cattle reared in the U-mining area showed a significantly higher U-mean concentration (0.83 ± 0.64 µg/L; t = 9.95; tα = 0.05, p > 0.05) than milk from cattle reared in the non-mining area (0.08 µg/L ± 0.05). Among the residents of the U-mining area, the mean estimated daily intake (EDI), the target hazard quotients (THQs) and the target carcinogenic risks (TCRs) were all significantly (p < 0.05) elevated than among the residents of the non-mining area.ConclusionsSince the EDIs, THQs and TCRs and the U level in the cow milk were all within the World Health Organization’s and the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s permissible limits of 0.6 µg/kg-bw/day, < 1, < 10–4 and 30 µg/L, respectively. The current study, therefore, has insufficient evidence to implicate U exposure through consumption of cow milk in any non-carcinogenic or carcinogenic human health complications that are currently prevailing in the study area.Graphic abstract
Highlights
Contamination of cow milk with uranium (U) is attracting global attention owing to U’s radio-toxicity and chemical toxicity in humans and animals
The current study focused on cattle from the villages in the Local Government Wards (LGW) in the U-mining area in Siavonga District in the Southern Province of Zambia
Uranium contamination levels in milk from cattle reared in the mining area and those reared far from the mining areas were depicted through a dendrogram by using the cluster method based on the Euclidian distance interval
Summary
Contamination of cow milk with uranium (U) is attracting global attention owing to U’s radio-toxicity and chemical toxicity in humans and animals. Exposure to heavy metals is one of the salient contributors to the non-communicable disease burden globally (ATSDR 2013; WHO 2018). Recent studies have reported considerable elevations in the levels of heavy metals such as lead (Pb), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and uranium (U) in the environment (Yabe et al 2010; He et al 2018). The presence of U, even in low concentrations, is valuable and may lead to metabolic disorders with severe consequences in animals and humans because of its chemical and radiotoxic properties (Katz 2014). Some studies have revealed that both chronic exposure to low doses and acute exposure to high doses may result
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