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Mercury contamination in deposited dust and its bioaccumulation patterns throughout Pakistan
- Source :
- The Science of the total environment.
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Mercury (Hg) contamination of environment is a major threat to human health in developing countries like Pakistan. Human populations, particularly children, are continuously exposed to Hg contamination via dust particles due to the arid and semi-arid climate. However, a country wide Hg contamination data for dust particles is lacking for Pakistan and hence, human populations potentially at risk is largely unknown. We provide the first baseline data for total mercury (THg) contamination into dust particles and its bioaccumulation trends, using scalp human hair samples as biomarker, at 22 sites across five altitudinal zones of Pakistan. The human health risk of THg exposure via dust particles as well as the proportion of human population that are potentially at risk from Hg contamination were calculated. Our results indicated higher concentration of THg in dust particles and its bioaccumulation in the lower Indus-plain agricultural and industrial areas than the other areas of Pakistan. The highest THg contamination of dust particles (3000ppb) and its bioaccumulation (2480ppb) were observed for the Lahore district, while the highest proportion (>40%) of human population was identified to be potentially at risk from Hg contamination from these areas. In general, children were at higher risk of Hg exposure via dust particles than adults. Regression analysis identified the anthropogenic activities, such as industrial and hospital discharges, as the major source of Hg contamination of dust particles. Our results inform environmental management for Hg control and remediation as well as the disease mitigation on potential hotspots.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Environmental Engineering
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Environmental remediation
Dust particles
Population
chemistry.chemical_element
010501 environmental sciences
01 natural sciences
Risk Assessment
Environmental Chemistry
Humans
Pakistan
Mercury contamination
education
Child
Waste Management and Disposal
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
education.field_of_study
Environmental engineering
Dust
Baseline data
Environmental Exposure
Mercury
Contamination
Pollution
Mercury (element)
chemistry
Bioaccumulation
Environmental chemistry
Environmental science
Environmental Pollutants
Environmental Monitoring
Hair
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18791026
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- The Science of the total environment
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....ee5f1e1d370353e6238e822ff9c2300d