title: Human exposure and risk assessment of cadmium for residents of abandoned metal mine areas in Korea.
abstract: The objective of this study is to find the Cd levels in agricultural crops compared to soil, to evaluate the relationship between daily intake dose through the multimedia/multi-pathway of human exposure and biomarker levels of the residents in mine vicinity area. We collected and cited the data of four out of ten health impact assessments for the residents of abandoned mine areas undertaken by the Korea Ministry of Environment in 2008. The Cd levels in soil were significantly decreased by the separation distance from the mines. The Cd levels in blood were significantly different between residents in mine areas and in comparative areas, but urinary Cd levels did not differ. The Cd levels in blood were related to the age; the separation distance from mine to residence; the daily intake dose via ingestion of drinking water, crops, and surface soil; and inhalation of ambient air of Cd, but urinary Cd levels were not relevant with various sociodemographic characteristics and exposure factors. The average hazard quotient (HQ) value of Cd in the mining site was below 1.0, but the maximum HQ was closed to 1.0. The results indicated that the ingestion of Cd-contaminated soil and agricultural crops by local inhabitants could pose potential adverse health effects to long-term residents consuming rice grown near to the mining areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, The Institute for Environmental Research, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jiyeon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Eung-Cheol
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Chun
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Seong-Joon
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Young-Wook
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D002648:Child; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008906:Mining; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry; D056910:Republic of Korea; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium