title: Environmental arsenic, cadmium and lead dust emissions from metal mine operations: Implications for environmental management, monitoring and human health.
abstract: Although blood lead values in children are predominantly falling globally, there are locations where lead exposure remains a persistent problem. One such location is Broken Hill, Australia, where the percentage of blood lead values >10 μg/dL in children aged 1-4 years has risen from 12.6% (2010), to 13% (2011) to 21% (2012). The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of metal contamination in places accessible to children. This study examines contemporary exposure risks from arsenic, cadmium, lead, silver and zinc in surface soil and dust, and in pre- and post-play hand wipes at six playgrounds across Broken Hill over a 5-day period in September 2013. Soil lead (mean 2,450 mg/kg) and zinc (mean 3,710 mg/kg) were the most elevated metals in playgrounds. Surface dust lead concentrations were consistently elevated (mean 27,500 μg/m(2)) with the highest lead in surface dust (59,900 μg/m(2)) and post-play hand wipes (60,900 μg/m(2)) recorded close to existing mining operations. Surface and post-play hand wipe dust values exceeded national guidelines for lead and international benchmarks for arsenic, cadmium and lead. Lead isotopic compositions ((206)Pb/(207)Pb, (208)Pb/(207)Pb) of surface dust wipes from the playgrounds revealed the source of lead contamination to be indistinct from the local Broken Hill ore body. The data suggest frequent, cumulative and ongoing mine-derived dust metal contamination poses a serious risk of harm to children.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Department of Environment and Geography, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia. Electronic address: mark.taylor@mq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Mark Patrick
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Department of Environment and Geography, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon Anthony
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Mould
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Department of Environment and Geography, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Louise Jane
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science, Department of Environment and Geography, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rouillon
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009517:New South Wales; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012987:Soil
keywords: Arsenic; Cadmium; Dust deposition; Health; Lead