Assessment of usefulness of synchrotron radiation techniques to determine arsenic species in hair and rice grain samples.
The arseniasis in Southwest Guizhou, China has been identified as a unique case of endemic arseniasis caused by exposure to indoor combustion of high As-content coal. Present investigation targeted the microdistribution and speciation of the element arsenic in human hair and environmental samples collected in one of the hyper-endemic villages of arseniasis in the area. Analyses were performed by micro-beam X-ray fluorescence (μ-XRF) and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). The total As level in hair samples of diagnosed patients was detected at almost the same level as in their asymptomatic neighbors. Concentrations in the lateral cut of hair samples were high-low-high (from surface to center). XAFS revealed the coexistence of both the As+3and As+5 states in hair samples. However, the samples from patients displayed a tendency of higher As+3/ As+5ratio than the asymptomatic fellow villagers. The μ-XRF mapping of rice grains shows that arsenic penetrates the endosperm, the major edible part of the grain, when rice grains were stored over the open fire of high As-content coal. Synchrotron radiation techniques are suitable to determine arsenic species concentrations in different parts of hair and rice grain samples. As arsenic penetrates the endosperm, rinsing the rice grains with water will remain largely ineffective.
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China.
Jun
J
Lin
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Guo-Fang
GF
Lin
Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China.
Yu-Lan
YL
Li
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Xiao-Yan
XY
Gao
Prefecture Center of Disease Prevention and Control of Southwest Guizhou Ethnic Bouyei and Hmong Autonomous Prefecture, Xingyi, Guizhou 562400, China.
Hui
H
Du
County Institute of Public Health Supervision of Xingren, Xingren, Guizhou 562300, China.
Chao-Gang
CG
Jia
Prefecture Center of Disease Prevention and Control of Southwest Guizhou Ethnic Bouyei and Hmong Autonomous Prefecture, Xingyi, Guizhou 562400, China.
Hong-Chao
HC
Lu
Leibniz-Institut für Arbeitsforschung an der TU Dortmund - Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139 Dortmund, Germany.
Klaus
K
Golka
Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China.
Jian-Hua
JH
Shen
arseniasis; arsenic; biogeochemical abnormality; micro-distribution; speciation; synchrotron radiation