title: High concentrations of lead and barium in hair of the rural population caused by water pollution in the Thar Jath oilfields in South Sudan.
abstract: In the oil fields of Thar Jath, South Sudan, increasing salinity of drinking water was observed together with human incompatibilities and rise in livestock mortalities. Hair analysis was used to characterize the toxic exposure of the population. Hair samples of volunteers from four communities with different distance from the center of the oil field (Koch 23km, n=24; Leer 50km, n=26; Nyal 110km, n=21; and Rumbek 220km, n=25) were analyzed for altogether 39 elements by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Very high concentrations and a toxic health endangerment were assessed for lead and barium. The concentration of lead increased steadily with decreasing distance from the oil field from Rumbek (mean 2.8μg/g) to Koch (mean 18.7μg/g) and was there in the same range as in highly contaminated mining regions in Kosovo, China or Bolivia. The weighting materials in drilling muds barite (BaSO4) and galena (PbS) were considered to be the sources of drinking water pollution and high hair values. The high concentrations of lead and barium in hair demonstrate clearly the health risk caused by harmful deposition of toxic industrial waste but cannot be used for diagnosis of a chronic intoxication of the individuals.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Charité, Turmstraße 21, Building N, 10559 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: fritz.pragst@charite.de.
authors.forename: Fritz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pragst
authors.affiliation: Sign of Hope e.V., Schneckenburgstraße 11d, 78467 Konstanz, Germany. Electronic address: stieglitz@hoffnungszeichen.de.
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stieglitz
authors.affiliation: African Water Ltd., Mariendorfer Straße 15e, 48155 Münster, Germany. Electronic address: hella@african-water.com.
authors.forename: Hella
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Runge
authors.affiliation: Institute of Functional and Environmental Medicine, Buttlarstraße 4a, 34466 Wolfhagen, Germany. Electronic address: info@ifu-wolfhagen.de.
authors.forename: Klaus-Dietrich
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Runow
authors.affiliation: Doctors's Data, Inc., 3755 Illinois Avenue, St. Charles, IL 60174-2420, USA. Electronic address: dquig@DoctorsData.com.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quig
authors.affiliation: Sign of Hope e.V., P.O. Box 21335-00505, Nairobi, Kenya. Electronic address: osborne@sign-of-hope.org.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Osborne
authors.affiliation: African Water Ltd., Mariendorfer Straße 15e, 48155 Münster, Germany. Electronic address: info@african-water.com.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Runge
authors.affiliation: Director Centre for Remote Sensing and GIS, University of Juba, P.O. Box 82, Juba, South Sudan. Electronic address: ariki@gmx.net.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ariki
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001464:Barium / Q000032:analysis*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D012424:Rural Population; D000068037:South Sudan; D014876:Water Pollution; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D001464:Barium; D007854:Lead
keywords: Barium; Drinking water; Environmental pollution; Hair analysis; Lead; Oil exploration