Impact of environmental cadmium pollution on cadmium exposure and body burden.

The body burden of cadmium, as estimated from 24-h urine cadmium levels, was determined in 1,523 subjects who were not occupationally exposed and who lived in five areas of Belgium. Urinary cadmium levels differed significantly with place of residence. These differences persisted after standardization for the other significant determinants (i.e., age, body mass index, smoking habits, social class, alcohol consumption, and menopause). The highest 24-h urine cadmium levels were found in subjects who lived in areas that contained cadmium-polluted soils. The body burden overload has been attributed mainly to the consumption of locally grown vegetables and the use of contaminated well water for cooking and drinking. Blood cadmium levels were also dependent on place of residence. However, the geographical differences in blood cadmium did not parallel those of urine cadmium. Blood cadmium is more influenced by recent exposure; therefore, this latter observation might reflect the recent implementation of preventive measures in some areas.

Impairment of renal function with increasing blood lead concentrations in the general population. The Cadmibel Study Group.

BACKGROUND: Nephropathy is known to occur in persons with heavy exposure to lead. Whether exposure to lead in the general population leads to impaired renal function is not known. METHODS: We studied renal function and indexes of lead exposure in a random population sample of 965 men and 1016 women (age range, 20 to 88 years). In all the subjects we measured creatinine clearance and blood concentrations of lead and zinc protoporphyrin (an indirect measure of blood lead level). RESULTS: The mean (+/- SD) creatinine clearance rate was 99 +/- 30 ml per minute in the men and 80 +/- 25 ml per minute in the women. In the men the geometric mean blood lead concentration was 114 micrograms per liter (0.55 mumol per liter) (range, 23 to 725 micrograms per liter [0.11 to 3.5 mumol per liter]), and in the women 75 micrograms per liter (0.36 mumol per liter) (range, 17 to 603 micrograms per liter [0.08 to 2.9 mumol per liter]); the zinc protoporphyrin values in blood averaged 1.0 and 1.1 micrograms per gram of hemoglobin, respectively. The creatinine clearance rate was inversely correlated with blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin values in the men and the women both before and after adjustments for age, bodymass index, and diuretic treatment. A 10-fold increase in blood lead concentration was associated with a reduction of 10 to 13 ml per minute in creatinine clearance. We also found a positive correlation between serum beta 2-microglobulin (which is inversely related to the glomerular filtration rate) and blood lead in men, between serum beta 2-microglobulin and zinc protoporphyrin in both sexes, and between serum creatinine and zinc protoporphyrin in men. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to lead may impair renal function in the general population. The alternative hypothesis that renal impairment may lead to an increase in the blood lead concentration cannot be excluded, however.

Factors influencing the cadmium body burden in a population study.

The cadmium body burden, as estimated from 24-h urinary cadmium (Cd-U), was determined in 1523 non-occupationally exposed subjects living in five areas of Belgium. It increased with age until 55-65 years in both sexes and thereafter decreased slightly. It was higher in smokers but was inversely associated with alcohol consumption and social class. In men only, it was also positively correlated with body mass index. After the menopause, women showed a significant increase in 24-h Cd-U independently of the other factors. In addition, the cadmium body burden was independently associated with place of residence in both sexes. Highest levels of Cd-U were found in subjects living in an area with soils heavily polluted by cadmium.

The association between blood pressure, calcium and other divalent cations: a population study.

This report investigated the associations between blood pressure and the levels of various divalent cations in blood and urine in the population at large. The 1,982 participants (963 men and 1019 women; mean age 48 years) constituted a stratified random sample of the population of 4 Belgian districts. Systolic/diastolic pressure averaged 133/78 mmHg in men, and 128/76 mmHg in women. Serum total calcium (2.37 mmol/l), serum magnesium (1.00 mmol/l) and blood cadmium (10.0 nmol/l) were on average similar in the two sexes. By contrast, serum zinc (13.1 and 12.6 mumol/l, respectively), blood lead (0.56 and 0.36 mumol/l) and the urinary excretions of calcium (4.86 and 3.95 mmol/24h), copper (0.16 and 0.13 mumol/24h), and cadmium (9.4 and 7.2 nmol/24h) were significantly higher in men than in women. After adjustment for significant blood pressure covariates (age, body mass index, pulse rate, log gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, smoking habits, and in women the contraceptive pill), serum total calcium was independently and positively correlated with systolic pressure in both sexes, and with diastolic pressure in women. After similar adjustments systolic pressure was positively correlated with urinary copper in men and women. In addition, systolic pressure and blood lead, and diastolic pressure and urinary cadmium were negatively correlated in men. In conclusion, this population study demonstrated a positive relationship between systolic blood pressure and both serum total calcium and urinary copper.

The relationship between blood pressure and environmental exposure to lead and cadmium in Belgium.

The question whether in the general population environmental exposure to lead and cadmium influences blood pressure after controlling for confounding factors remains debated. The environmental exposure of the Belgian population to both lead and cadmium is high as compared with other countries. The Cadmibel Cooperative Study was therefore designed to elucidate whether environmental exposure to lead and cadmium has any effect on blood pressure and renal function in the population at large. Before embarking on the large Cadmibel project, a small study was conducted. Blood pressure and the 24-hr urinary excretion of cadmium (CdU) and lead (PbU) were determined in a random 4% sample of the population of a small Belgian town. CdU averaged 0.27 micrograms/24 hr in 46 youths (mean age 14 +/- 3 years, +/- SD), increased with age, and was higher in 57 adult men (age 41 +/- 14 years), as compared with 59 adult women (age 39 +/- 14 years) (1.05 vs. 0.81 micrograms/24 hr; p less than 0.01). PbU averaged 5.8 micrograms/24 hr in youths and similarly increased with age; adult men excreted more lead than women (13.3 vs. 8.3 micrograms/24 hr; p less than 0.001). Among men, manual workers excreted more cadmium (1.4 vs. 0.8 micrograms/24 hr; p less than 0.05) but a similar amount of lead (7.0 vs. 6.9 micrograms/24 hr) as compared with office workers. In simple regression analysis, CdU was positively correlated with both systolic (r = 0.30; p less than 0.05) and diastolic (r = 0.38; p less than 0.01) blood pressure in women.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aerosol versus solution composition in occupational exposures.

Some industrial processes, such as the electrolysis of zinc solutions, anodic oxidation of aluminum, ore flotation, etc., result in the generation of gas microbubbles; the composition of their liquid envelope depends on, but is not identical to, the composition of the bulk of the liquid phase. An aerosol of respirable size, often toxic or irritant, results from the bursting of the bubbles at a certain height above the liquid. Some factors governing the discrepancy between the composition of the aerosol and that of the liquid have been studied for metal ions in oceanic aerosols. It is not known if these factors also apply to concentrated solutions and to anions.

Environmental pollution by cadmium and cadmium body burden: an autopsy study.

The industrial area of Liège in Belgium is polluted by cadmium mainly because of past emission from non-ferrous metal industries. Persons who have lived in that area have accumulated significantly more cadmium in the renal cortex and in the liver than those who have resided in other regions of the country.

Mutagenic activity of non-volatile organic matter associated with suspended matter in urban air.

Extracts of atmospheric suspended matter showed a direct mutagenic effect in the Ames test. This effect was increased by metabolic activation. These extracts were separated into an aliphatic, an aromatic and a polar fraction. The aliphatic fraction had no effect, with or without activation; the aromatic fraction showed the greatest mutagenicity with and without activation; the polar fraction was also mutagenic, but its metabolic activation did not enhance the effect. The active compounds in this last fraction could be represented in a significant part by oxygenated derivatives of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Setting legislative norms for environmental lead exposure: results of an epidemiological survey in the east of Belgium.

Blood lead concentrations (Pb-B, microgram/100 ml) was measured in children and adults, both sexes, living in and around Liège (control group, n = 859) and in the urban center of Verviers (exposed group, n = 568) where houses with lead piping are supplied with corrosive drinking water. In control children, the mean Pb-B increases with age; in control adults the levels are higher than for children, but are independent of age (ranges: males 19.1 - 21.1; females 12.9 - 16.9). In exposed children aged 5-14 years, the mean Pb-B is higher than in young exposed adults: these children constitute thus a high risk group. In the exposed adults, the mean Pb-B rises also with age (ranges: male 24.2 - 33.5; females 19.4 - 32.3). Our epidemiological survey shows that the safety margin of the present EEC figures is acceptable for children exposed to the low and usual urban Pb concentrations.

Aminolevulinate dehydratase and blood lead levels in urban male adults.

The existence of an association between aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity in erythrocytes (ALA-d) and blood lead level (Pb-B) has been investigated in a male urban population not occupationally exposed to lead. The data show a decrease of the mean ALA-d activity when Pb-B rises but the association is not statistically ascertained in every case when the data are examined by two different procedures. It appears first that the statistical significance depends on an adequate choice of the distribution function of the ALA-d. Secondly, factors such as interindividual variability of this biological index, lack of precision in the analytical measurements of the Pb-B and the range of the environmental exposure under observation may influence the statistical significance and induce misleading statements. The data aggregation allows the avoidance of some inconsistencies. Furthermore, the estimation of mean ALA-d for the different Pb-B may also be biased by confounding risk factors (such as smoking habits). As such factors are not presently taken into consideration in public health surveys, the no-threshold Pb-B hypothesis, suggested by the observed dose-effect relationship, cannot be strongly supported.

Blood lead levels and age: a study in two male urban populations not occupationally exposed.

Blood lead was measured in two adult male populations who were submitted to different environmental lead exposures. Their differential variations in mean blood lead vs. age result from the difference between the external lead concentrations. It is inferred that a homeostasis phenomena plays a significant role and that the blood compartment is unable to adapt to some extent to a high environmental lead exposure.

[Estimation of atmospheric benzo(a)pyrene using fluorimetry coupled with liquid scintillation spectrometry (author's transl)]. / Dosage du benzo (a) pyrène atmosphérique à scintillation liquide

Methods for the rapid determination of benzo(a)pyrene rest mainly on the separation of the substance by thin-layer chromatography, followed by its spectrophotometric or fluorimetric estimation. Published papers seldom state the recovery results. It is shown here that, with the aid of radioactive benzo(a)pyrene tracer and liquid scintillation spectrometry, recovery becomes poorer and less reproducible as the sample decreases in size (to less than 1 mug benzo(a)pyrene). Coupling fluorimetry with liquid scintillation spectrometry provides an easy means of reducing this common source of error.