Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Using human hair and nails as biomarkers to assess exposure of potentially harmful elements to populations living near mine waste dumps

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Potentially harmful elements (PHEs) manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) were measured in human hair/nails, staple crops and drinking water to ascertain the level of exposure to dust transference via wind and rain erosion for members of the Mugala community living near a mine waste dump in the Zambian Copperbelt. The mean PHE concentrations of hair in decreasing order were Zn (137 ± 21 mg/kg), Cu (38 ± 7 mg/kg), Mn (16 ± 2 mg/kg), Pb (4.3 ± 1.9 mg/kg), Ni (1.3 ± 0.2 mg/kg) and Cr (1.2 ± 0.2 mg/kg), Co (0.9 ± 0.2 mg/kg) and Cd (0.30 ± 0.02 mg/kg). Whilst for toenails the decreasing order of mean concentrations was Zn (172 ± 27 mg/kg), Cu (30 ± 5 mg/kg), Mn (12 ± 2 mg/kg), Pb (4.8 ± 0.5 mg/kg), Ni (1.7 ± 0.14 mg/kg) and Co (1.0 ± 0.02 mg/kg), Cr (0.6 ± 0.1 mg/kg) and Cd (0.1 ± 0.002 mg/kg). The concentration of these potentially harmful elements (PHEs) varied greatly among different age groups. The results showed that Mn, Co, Pb, Cd and Zn were above the interval values (Biolab in Nutritional and environmental medicine, Hair Mineral Analysis, London, 2012) at 0.2–2.0 mg/kg for Mn, 0.01–0.20 mg/kg for Co, < 2.00 mg/kg for Pb, < 0.10 mg/kg for Cd and 0.2–2.00 mg/kg for Zn, whilst Ni, Cu and Cr concentrations were within the normal range concentrations of < 1.40 mg/kg, 10–100 mg/kg and 0.1–1.5 mg/kg, respectively. Dietary intake of PHEs was assessed from the ingestion of vegetables grown in Mugala village, with estimated PHE intakes expressed on a daily basis calculated for Mn (255), Pb (48), Ni (149) and Cd (33) µg/kg bw/day. For these metals, DI via vegetables was above the proposed limits of the provisional tolerable daily intakes (PTDIs) (WHO in Evaluation of certain food additive and contaminants, Seventy-third report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2011) for Mn at 70 µg/kg bw/day, Pb at 3 µg/kg bw/day, Ni and Cd 5 µg/kg bw/day and 1 µg/kg bw/day, respectively. The rest of the PHEs listed were within the PTDIs limits. Therefore, Mugala inhabitants are at imminent health risk due to lead, nickel and cadmium ingestion of vegetables and drinking water at this location.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alves, A., Kucharska, A., Erratico, C., Xu, F., Hand, E. D., Koppen, G., et al. (2014). Human biomonitoring of emerging pollutants through non-invasive matrices: State of art and future potential. Anal Bioanalytical Chemistry,406(17), 4063–4088. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-014-7748-1.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashraf, W., Jaffar, M., Anwer, K., & Ehsan, U. (1995). Age and sex-based comparative distribution of the selected metals in the scalp hair of an urban population from two cities Pakistan. Environmental Pollution,87, 61–64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bakri, S. F. Z., Hariri, A., Ma’arop, N. F., & Hussin, N. S. A. (2017). Toenail as non-invasive biomarker in metal toxicity measurement of welding fumes exposure: A review. In International conference on applied sciences (ICAS2016), material science and engineering (Vol. 165). https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/165/1/012019.

  • Beal, T. Y., Marriott, E., Arsenault, J. E., Smith, M. R., & HIjmano, R. J. (2017). Global trends in dietary micronutrients supplies and estimated prevalence of inadequate intakes. PLoS ONE,12(4), E0175554. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175554.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biolab. (2012). Nutritional and environmental medicine. London: Hair Mineral Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.biolab.co.uk/docs/Hair_Mineral_Analysis.pdf. Accessed May 10, 2019.

  • Button, M., Jenkin, G. R. T., Harrington, C. P., & Watts, M. J. (2009). Human toenails as a biomarker of exposure to elevated environmental arsenic. Journal of Environmental Monitoring,11, 610–617. https://doi.org/10.1039/b817097e.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chan, S. M., Wang, W. X., & Ni, L. H. (2003). The uptake of Cd, Cr and Zn by the microalga Enteromorpha crinite and subsequent transfer to the marine herbivorous rabbitfish, Siganus. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology,44, 298–306.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chojnacka, K., Gorecka, H., Chojnacka, A., & Gorecki, H. (2005). Inter-element interactions in human hair. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology,20, 368–374.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ciszewski, A., Wasiak, W., & Ciszewski, W. (1997). Hair analysis. Part 2. Differential Pulse anodic stripping volumetric determination of thallium in human hair samples of persons in permanent contact with lead in their workplace. Analytical Chimica Acta,343, 225–229.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dombovari, J., & Papp, L. (1998). Comparison of sample preparation methods for elemental analysis of human hair. Microchemical Journal,59, 187–193.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dombovari, J., Papp, L., Uzonyi, L., Barbely-Kiss, I., Elekes, Z., Varga, Z., et al. (1999). Study of cross-sectional and longitudinal distributions of some major and minor elements in the hair samples of haemodialysed patients with micro-PIXE. Journal of Analytical Atomic Spectrometry,14, 553–557.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gang, L., Ligang, P., & Xinhui, X. (2017). Assessment of typical heavy metals in human hair of different age groups and foodstuffs in Beijing, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health,14, 914.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, X., Chen, C.-T. A. (2012). Heavy metal pollution status in surface sediments of the coastal Bohai Bay. Water Research, 46(6), 1901–1911.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, R. S., Raboy, V., & King, J. C. (2018). Implications of phytate in plant-based foods for iron and zinc bioavailability setting dietary requirements, and formulating programs and policies. Nutrition Review,76(11), 793–804.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goulle, J. S., Saussereau, E., Mahiem, L., Groenwont, S., Guerbet, M., & Lacroix, C. (2009). Application of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry multielement analysis in fingernails and toenail as a biomarker of metal exposure. Journal of Analytical Toxicology,33, 92–98.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horiguchi, H., Teranishi, H., Niiya, K., Aoshima, K., Katosh, T., Sakuragawa, N., et al. (1994). Hypoproduction of erythropoietin contributes to anaemia in chronic cadmium intoxication: Clinical study on Itai-itai disease in Japan. Archives of Toxicology,68, 632–636.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ionescu, J., Novotny, J., Stejskal, V., Latsch, A., Blaurock-Busch, E., & Eistenmann-Klein, M. (2006). Increased levels of transition metals in breast cancer tissue. Neuro Endocrinology Letters,27(suppl 1), 36–39.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jarup, L. (2013). Hazards of heavy metal contamination. British Medical Bulletin,68, 167–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. (1999). Summary and conclusion. In Proceedings of the 53rd meeting Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on food additives, Rome, Italy.

  • Joy, E. J. M., Broadley, M. R., Young, S. D., Black, C. R., Chilimba, A. D. C., Ander, E. L., et al. (2015). Soil type influences crop mineral composition in Malawi. Science of the Total Environment,505, 587–595.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaewsarn, P., & Yu, Q. M. (2001). Cadmium(II) removal from aqueous solutions by pre-treated biomass of marine algae Padina sp. Environmental Pollution,112, 209–213.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaninga, B., Chishala, B. H., Maseka, K. K., Sakala, G. M., Lark, M. R., Tye, A., et al. (2019). Review: Mine tailings in an African tropical environment—Mechanisms for the bioavailability of heavy metals in soils. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00326-2).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, S. A., & Chatt, A. (1998). Hair analysis: Application in the biomedical and environmental science. New York: VCH Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.2550100119.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Khalique, A., Ahmad, S., Anjum, T., Jaffar, M., Munir-Shah, M. H., Shaheen, N., et al. (2005). Comparative study based on gender and age dependence of selected metals in scalp hair. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment,104(1–3), 45–57.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, G., Yu, Y., Hou, J., Xue, W., Liu, X., Liu, Y., et al. (2014). An ecological risk assessment of heavy metal pollution of the agricultural ecosystem near a lead-acid battery factory. Ecological Indicators,47, 210–218.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McBride, M. B. (1994). Environmental chemistry in soils. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN-10: 0195070119.

  • Middleton, D. R. S., McCormack, V. A., Munishi, M. O., Mwenya, D., Marriott, A. L., Hamilton, E. M., et al. (2019a). Intra-household agreement of urinary elemental concentrations in Tanzania and Kenya: Potential surrogates in case–control studies. Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology,29, 335–343. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-018-0071-8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, D. R. S., McCormack, V. A., Watts, M. J., & Schuz, J. (2019b). Environmental geochemistry and cancer: A pertinent global health problem requiring interdisciplinary collaboration. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00303-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, D. R. S., Watts, M. J., Hamilton, E. M., Ander, E. L., Close, R. M., Exley, K. S., et al. (2016a). Urinary arsenic profiles reveal exposures to inorganic arsenic from private drinking water supplies in Cornwall, UK. Scientific Reports,6, 25656. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep25656.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, D. R. S., Watts, M. J., Hamilton, E. M., Fretcher, T., Leonardi, G. S., Close, R. M., et al. (2016b). Prolonged exposure to arsenic in UK private water supplies: Toenail, hair and drinking water concentrations. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts,2016(18), 562–574.

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, D. R. S., Watts, M. J., Lark, M. R., Milne, C. J., & Polya, D. A. (2016c). Assessing urinary flow rate, creatinine, osmolality and other hydration adjustment methods for urinary biomonitoring using NHANES arsenic, iodine, lead and cadmium data. Environmental Health,15, 68–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ncube, E., Banda, C., & Mundike, J. (2012). Air pollution on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia: Effects of sulphur dioxide on vegetation and humans. Journal of Natural and Environmental Sciences,3(1), 34–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ndilila, W. (2009). Investigating metal exposure on the general populace of the copper mining town of Kitwe, Zambia. Retrieved from https://www.ro.ecu.edu.cuu/thesis/1844. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

  • Nies, D. H. (1999). Microbial heavy-metal resistance. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,51, 730–750.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Reilly, J., Watts, M. J., Shaw, R. A., & Ward, N. L. (2010). Arsenic contamination of natural waters in San Suan and La Pampa, Argentina. Environmental Geochemistry and Health,32(6), 491–515. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-010-9317-7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oyoo-Okoth, E., Admiraal, W., Osano, O., & Kraak, M. H. S. (2012). Element profiles in hair and nails of children reflect the uptake from food and the environment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,31, 2012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oyoo-Okoth, E., Admiraal, W., Osano, O., Manguya-Lusega, D., Ngure, V., Kraak, M. H. S., et al. (2013). Contribution of soil, water and food consumption to metal exposure of children from geological enriched environments in the coastal zone of Lake Victoria, Kenya. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 216, 8–16.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qadir, M., Ghafoor, A., & Murtaza, G. (2000). Cadmium concentration in vegetables grown on urban soils irrigated with untreated municipal sewage. Environment, Development and Sustainability,2(1), 13–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rashed, M., & Hossam, F. (2007). Heavy metals in fingernails and scalp hair of children, adults and workers from environmentally exposed areas and Aswan, Egypt. Environmental Bioindicators,2, 131–145.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reason, D. A., Watts, M. J., Devez, A., & Broadley, M. R. (2015). Quantification of phytic acid in grains. British Geological Survey Open Report, OR/15/070. http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/512947. Accessed March 2019.

  • Romanowicz-Makoska, H., Forma, E., Brys, M., Krajewska, W., & Smolarz, B. (2011). Concentration of cadmium, nickel and aluminium in female breast cancer. Polish Journal of Pathology,62(4), 257–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Srivastava, S., & Jokanc, M. (2016). Mining and environmental remediation and implications project. Zambia. http://documents.Worldbank.org/curated/en/813951469077929423/Environmental-and-social-management-framework. Accessed 18 Jan 2019.

  • Stewart, A. G. (2019). Mining is bad for health. Env: Environmental Geochemistry and Health. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00367-7.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Stihi, C., Radulescu, C., Busuioc, G., Popescu, I.V., Gheboianu, A., & Ene, A. (2011). Studies on accumulation of heavy metals from substrate to edible wild mushrooms. Romanian Journal of Physics, 56(1–2), 257–264.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vogel, A. I. (1989). Vogel’s textbook of quantitative chemical analyses (5th ed.). Harlow: Longman Scientific and Technical. ISBN 0-582-44693-7.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2003). The world health report 2003 - shaping the future, https://www.who.int/whr/2003/en/. Accessed 16 July 2019.

  • WHO. (2011). Evaluation of certain food additives and contaminants, Seventy-third report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/44515/WHO_TRS_960_eng.pdf;jsessionid=4F53FFEF556B5813D551A61BF138E197?sequence=1. Accessed July 16 2019.

  • WHO. (2017). Guidelines for drinking water quality. First Addendum to the Fourth Edition. ISBN 978-92-4-155001-7 https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254636/9789241550017-eng.pdf;jsessionid=6C94668688C1D8E87609E6EA3F17B783?sequence=1. Accessed March 2019.

  • Wongsasuluk, P., Chotpantarat, S., Siriwong, W., & Robson, M. (2018). Using urine as a biomarker in human exposure risk associated with arsenic and other heavy metals contaminating drinking groundwater in intensively agricultural areas of Thailand. Environmental Geochemistry and Health,40(1), 323–348. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-017-9910-0.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhuang, P., McBride, M. B., Xia, H., Li, N., & Li, Z. (2009). Health risk from heavy metals via consumption of food crops in the vicinity of Dabaoshan mine, South China. Science of the Total Environment,407, 1551–1561.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhunk, L. I., & Kist, A. A. (1995). Human hair instrumental neutron activation analysis and medicine. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 195, 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02036475.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zia, M. H., Watts, M. J., Niaz, A., Middleton, D. R. S., & Kim, A. W. (2017). Health risk assessment of PHEs and dietary minerals from vegetables irrigated with untreated wastewater, Pakistan. Environmental Geochemistry and Health,39(4), 707–728. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-016-9841-1.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors acknowledge funding from the Royal Society International Exchange Scheme (IES_RS_170206) through the project ‘Risk of exposure to mine tailings’, in addition to the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute, the British Geological Survey and the Copperbelt University for funding and technical support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Sciences, Copperbelt University, Kitwe, Zambia

    Lukundo Nakaona & Kakoma K. Maseka

  2. Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environment Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Nottingham, UK

    Elliott M. Hamilton & Michael J. Watts

Authors
  1. Lukundo Nakaona
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kakoma K. Maseka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elliott M. Hamilton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael J. Watts
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Watts.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (XLSX 17 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nakaona, L., Maseka, K.K., Hamilton, E.M. et al. Using human hair and nails as biomarkers to assess exposure of potentially harmful elements to populations living near mine waste dumps. Environ Geochem Health 42, 1197–1209 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00376-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00376-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation