Exposure assessment for the abandoned metal mine area contaminated by arsenic

Among the results of community health impact assessments completed in 2014, residents of the Indae abandoned metal mine area showed high average urinary concentrations of harmful arsenic (As), at 148.9 µg/L. The concentration of harmful As was derived as the sum of As(V), As(III), MMA, and DMA conce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental geochemistry and health 2019-12, Vol.41 (6), p.2443-2458
Main Authors: Chang, Jun Young, Ahn, Seung Chul, Lee, Jung Sub, Kim, Jee-Young, Jung, A-Ra, Park, Jaeseon, Choi, Jong-Woo, Do Yu, Seung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abandoned mines
Adult
Aged
Agricultural land
Agriculture
Area
Arsenic
Arsenic - analysis
Arsenic - urine
Arsenicals - analysis
Chronic exposure
Dimethylarsinic acid
Drinking water
Earth and Environmental Science
Environment
Environmental assessment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Exposure - adverse effects
Environmental Exposure - analysis
Environmental Health
Environmental Monitoring
Exposure
Female
Fluvial sediments
Fresh Water - analysis
Geochemistry
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Hazards
Heavy metals
Humans
Impact assessment
Isotope ratios
Isotopes
Isotopes - analysis
Lead
Lead - analysis
Lead isotopes
Male
Metal concentrations
Middle Aged
Mining
Original Paper
Pollution
Pollution effects
Pollution sources
Polymethyl methacrylate
Public Health
Republic of Korea
Residential areas
River water
Rivers
Rivers - chemistry
Socioeconomic Factors
Soil
Soil analysis
Soil contamination
Soil Pollutants - analysis
Soil Science & Conservation
Soil water
Soils
Surveying
Surveys and Questionnaires
Terrestrial Pollution
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water pollution
Water Supply
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Summary:Among the results of community health impact assessments completed in 2014, residents of the Indae abandoned metal mine area showed high average urinary concentrations of harmful arsenic (As), at 148.9 µg/L. The concentration of harmful As was derived as the sum of As(V), As(III), MMA, and DMA concentrations known to be toxic. In this area, mining hazard prevention work was not carried out and the pollution source was neglected, and the health effect of the residents due to arsenic exposure was concerned. We re-assessed As exposure levels and tried to identify exposure factors for residents of this area. Analysis of the soil, sediment, and river water to assess the association between the soil of the Indae abandoned metal mine area and the soil in residential areas confirmed a correlation between Pb and As concentrations in the soil. Since Pb and As behave similarly, the use of the stable Pb isotope ratio for assessment of the pollution source tracking was validated. In the 3-isotope plot ( 207/206 Pb vs. 208/206 Pb) of soil samples in this area, a stable Pb isotope ratio was located on the same trend line, which confirmed that the soil in the residential area was within the area of influence of the Indae abandoned metal mine. Therefore, we judged that the pollution source of As was the Indae abandoned metal mine. The results by As species were As (III) 1.45 μg/L, As (V) 0.74 μg/L, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) 2.43 μg/L, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) 27.63 μg/L, and arsenobetaine 88.62 μg/L. The urinary harmful As was 31.92 μg/L, much lower than the 148.9 μg/L reported in a 2014 survey, due to the implementation of a multi-regional water supply in November 2014 that restricted As exposure through drinking river water. However, concerns remain over chronic exposure to As because As in river water used for farming and in agricultural soil still exceeds environmental standards; thus, ongoing work to address hazards from former mining areas and continued environmental monitoring is necessary.
ISSN:0269-4042
1573-2983
DOI:10.1007/s10653-019-00296-5