Exposure to a high selenium environment in Punjab, India: Effects on blood chemistry.

Many studies have shown that overexposure to environmental selenium may exert a wide pattern of adverse effects on human health, but much uncertainty still surrounds some of them as well as the exact amounts of exposure involved. In particular, very few studies have addressed the possible changes in blood chemistry following high selenium exposure. In a Northeastern part of Punjab, India, very high soil selenium content has been documented, with a value exceeding 2 mg/kg (up to 5) as compared with the <0.5 mg/kg selenium content characterizing the surrounding referent areas. In seven villages located in that seleniferous areas, we carried out a survey by recruiting volunteers and sampling blood, hair and nail specimens. We administered a questionnaire to the participants and analyzed the specimens for the selenium, along with a series of biochemical and haematological parameters in blood. We included 680 adult volunteers (267 men and 413 women), who showed median selenium levels of 171.30 µg/L in serum, 1.25 µg/g in hair, and 5.7 µg/g in nails. Overall, increasing selenium exposure tended to correlate with higher levels of total cholesterol, albumin, free triiodothyronine, deionidase activity, and with red cell and platelet counts. After stratifying the subjects according to category of selenium exposure, we observed a dose-response relation between serum selenium and risk of high total cholesterol, and between hair selenium and risk of high total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high pancreatic lipase, altered thyroid-stimulating hormone and free triiodothyronine levels. Nail selenium exposure category positively correlated with risk of high alanine-aminotransferase, altered albumin levels, high pancreatic lipase and low levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone. Chronic selenium overexposure appears to adversely affect lipid profiles and pancreatic, liver, and thyroid function, with selenium biomarkers having different abilities to predict such effects.

Exposure to a high selenium environment in Punjab, India: Biomarkers and health conditions.

Seleniferous areas have been identified and described in many parts of the world. Despite the interest in selenium as a trace element of considerable toxicologic and nutritional relevance, however, only a few studies have been carried out on human health effects of such high selenium environments. We collected blood, hair and nail samples from 680 adult volunteers (267 men and 413 women) living in seven villages located in the seleniferous area of Punjab, India. We measured selenium levels in these specimens. We also administered a questionnaire to collect information about diet and other lifestyle characteristics, to identify the sources of selenium exposure and to correlate it with a number of health conditions. Serum and hair selenium contents were highly correlated, while the association of these biomarkers with nail selenium content was weaker. Serum selenium showed limited association with consumption of locally produced foods, while pulses and vegetables, along with cereals and pulses, were associated to higher hair and nail selenium contents, respectively. Association of a number of adverse health endpoints with serum and hair selenium was stronger than for nail selenium contents. Such endpoints included higher prevalence of nausea and vomiting, bad breath, worm infestation, breathlessness exert and bad breath, chest pain, hair and nail abnormalities and loss, garlic odor, edema, spontaneous abortion, and overall selenosis. In contrast, we gathered no evidence of dermatitis or loss of appetite in residents most exposed to selenium. Overall, and despite some statistical imprecision in effect estimates, these results confirm the occurrence of adverse health effects in subjects exposed to high levels of environmental selenium. Nail selenium contents may be less adequate to reflect and monitor such overexposure, compared with blood and hair levels.

Optimization of Soil Washing to Reduce the Selenium Levels of Seleniferous Soil from Punjab, Northwestern India.

Seleniferous soil collected from the wheat ( L.)-grown agricultural land in Punjab, India, was characterized and the Se concentration in various soil fractions was determined by sequential extraction. The soil had a total Se content of 4.75 (±0.02) mg kg, of which 44% was observed in the oxidizable soil fraction. Soil flushing as an in situ technique was performed to simulate the Se migration pattern in case of rainfall or irrigation. Significant migration of Se from the upper layer to the lower layers was observed during water percolation through the soil column at a flow rate of 1 mL min, which could be attributed to Se reduction in the lower anoxic layers of the soil column. For ex situ treatment, the soil washing technique was optimized by varying different parameters such as treatment time, temperature, pH, liquid to solid (L:S) ratio, and presence of competing ions and oxidizing agents. Selenium extraction from soil was significantly improved by the presence of oxidizing agents in the washing solution: ∼38% Se was removed from the soil in the presence of 0.5% KMnO. In contrast, parameters such as treatment time, temperature, pH, L:S ratio, and competing ions did not significantly enhance the Se extraction efficiency. In this research, laboratory-scale in situ and ex situ treatment techniques for Se removal from soil were studied and optimized. The results provide an insight for large-scale Se removal and recovery from seleniferous soils.

Fate of Selenium in Soils at a Seleniferous Site Recorded by High Precision Se Isotope Measurements.

Selenium poisoning is a significant health problem in parts of Punjab, India, which is an area of intense agricultural productivity. To determine the complex soil dynamics that control distribution of Se in this area, we measured concentrations and δ(82/76)Se of bulk Se and individual Se pools in four soil profiles. This was compared against δ(82/76)Se of crops and groundwater used for irrigation. The isotopic composition of bulk Se and component Se pools reveal spatial heterogeneity. The bulk δ(82/76)Se show progressively lower values with increasing soil depth indicating the preferential migration of isotopically lighter Se downward through the soil profile. The δ(82/76)Se of water-soluble Se is isotopically heavier than δ(82/76)Se of adsorbed Se, suggesting Se isotope fractionation by reduction prior to scavenging by reactive minerals in the soil. The organically bound Se is isotopically lighter than water-soluble Se and correlates with the C/N ratio at different soil depths. Thus, Se immobilization by redox cycling controls the biogeochemical Se cycle in the soil. Se isotope ratios help to trace biochemical processes of Se in agricultural seleniferous soils and provide an important assessment for better soil management mitigating Se concentrations of ecotoxicological levels.

Development and mapping of seleniferous soils in northwestern India.

Periodic surveys were undertaken to identify and characterize Se-contaminated soils in northwestern India. Total Se content varied from 0.023 to 4.91mgkg(-1) in 0-15cm surface soil and 0.64-515.0mgkg(-1) in samples of vegetation. Selenium-contaminated land occupying an area of 865ha was classified into different categories based on total Se content of soils as moderately contaminated (0.5-2.0mg Sekg(-1)) and highly contaminated (>2.0mg Sekg(-1)). The normal soils contained <0.5mg Sekg(-1). The soil map was prepared using village level cadastral maps. Se-contaminated soils were silty loam to silty clay loam in texture and tested pH 7.9-8.8, electrical conductivity 0.3-0.7dSm(-1), calcium carbonate 0.1-4.1% and organic carbon 0.4-1.0%. Selenium was present throughout the soil profile up to 2m depth; 0-15cm surface soil layer contained 1.5 to 6.0 times more Se than in subsurface layers. Selenium content in rock samples collected from lower and upper Shiwalik sub-Himalayan ranges varied from 1864 to 2754 and 11 to 847µgkg(-1), respectively. The sediments transported through seasonal rivulets linking the Shiwalik ranges to affected sites contained 0.57-2.89mg Sekg(-1). The underground water containing 2.5-69.5µg SeL(-1) used for irrigating transplanted rice grown in Se-contaminated area resulted in a net Se addition in soil up to 881gha(-1)y(-1); possibly further aggravating the Se-toxicity problem. Presence of substantial amount of Se in rock samples and sediments of seasonal rivulets suggests that Se-rich materials are being transported from Shiwalik hills and deposited in regions where seasonal rivulets end up.

Selenium concentrations of common weeds and agricultural crops grown in the seleniferous soils of northwestern India.

The plants grown in seleniferous soils constitute a major source of toxic selenium levels in the food chain of animals and human beings. Greenhouse and field experiments were conducted to study selenium concentrations of weeds, forages and cereals grown on seleniferous soils located between 31.0417 degrees to 31.2175 degrees N and 76.1363 degrees to 76.4147 degrees E in northwestern India. Eleven winter season (November-April) weed plants were grown in the greenhouse in a soil treated with different levels of selenate-Se. Selenium concentrations of weed plants increased progressively with the levels of selenate-Se in soil. The highest Se concentration was recorded by Silene gallica (246 mgkg(-1)) and the lowest by Avena ludoviciana (47 mgkg(-1)) at 2.5 mg Sekg(-1) soil. A.ludoviciana and Spergula arvensis proved highly tolerant to the presence of 1.25 and 2.5 mg selenate-Sekg(-1) soil and the remaining weeds were sensitive to Se. Dry matter yield of Se-sensitive weed plants was 25 to 62% of the yield in the no-Se control at 1.25mg selenate-Sekg(-1) and 6 to 40% at 2.5mg selenate-Sekg(-1) soil. Other symptoms like change in leaf colour and size, burning of leaf tips and margins, and delayed flowering were also observed due to Se. Dry matter yield of Se-sensitive weed plants expressed as percentage of yield in the no-Se control at both the Se levels was inversely correlated with their Se content (r=-0.731, p<0.01, N=17). Among the weed plants grown in seleniferous soils under field situations, Mentha longifolia accumulated the highest Se (365 mgkg(-1)) and Phalaris minor the lowest (34 mgkg(-1)). Among agricultural crops grown on a naturally contaminated soil in the greenhouse, Se concentrations were the highest for oilseed crops (19-29 mgkg(-1)), followed by legumes (6-13 mgkg(-1)) and cereals (2-18 mgkg(-1)). Helianthus annuus among the oilseed crops, A.ludoviciana among the winter season weeds, M.longifolia among the summer season (May-October) weeds and Cirsium arvense among the perennial weeds can be used for phytoremediation of seleniferous soils as these accumulate the highest amounts of Se.