Search results for " environmental geochemistry"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Use of lead isotopic fingerprint in human scalp hair to identify potential sources of pollution in industrial Sicilian sites (Italy)
2019
Petrochemical industries represent a controversial, although important, the economic resource. They offer numerous job opportunities, which in turn contribute to the economic development of the city. People living in towns close to industrial plants are particularly exposed to severe environmental decline, which involves the deterioration of the quality of air, water, soil, and food. The municipalities of Augusta (SR), Gela (CL) and Pace del Mela (ME) host large oil refineries, together with several important chemical and petrochemical industries. The main goal of this study is to evaluate if stable lead isotope ratios measured in the biological matrix can be used as pollution fingerprints.…
Can we consider a natural environment always of high quality and adequate to protect population from potential risks of health threats?
2013
The question posed in the title arise because the current knowledge suggests that there are important, both beneficial and adverse, relationships between natural environment and human health. The human body obtains metals and metalloids from diet, some of which are derived from local foodstuffs and municipal water supplies, and it is therefore plausible that areas characterized by various types of bedrock and superficial materials, upon which food is grown and water drained, provide different availabilities of trace elements. The present study aimed at elucidating whether the degree of human exposure to trace elements is subject to changes in local environmental factors. This hypothesis was…
Influence of industrial activity on metal and metalloid contents in scalp hair of adolescents
2015
Petrochemical industries represent a controversial although important economical resource. They offer a great deal of job opportunities producing also a development of several areas. However, such kind of industrial plants are responsible for the change of the environmental background through the emission of toxic pollutants such as metalsmetalloids and organic compounds. People living in cities close to such industrial plants are particularly exposed to a severe environmental decline, which implies the deterioration of the quality of air, soil, water and food with the consequent human health concerns. The municipalities of Gela (GL) and Pace del Mela (PM), located respectively along the Me…
Lead isotopic fingerprint in human scalp hair: The case study of Iglesias mining district (Sardinia, Italy)
2017
The Sulcis-Iglesiente district (SW Sardinia, Italy) has been, until recently, one of the most important Italian polymetallic mining areas for the extraction of lead. Epidemiological studies conducted over several decades have indicated this site at high risk of environmental crisis with possible adverse effects on the public health. In the present paper we discuss Pb isotope signatures in human scalp hair and road dust collected from the Sulcis-Iglesiente area in order to trace the exposure of populations to potential Pb sources. A total of 23 determinations (20 on hair samples and 3 on road dust samples) of lead isotope ratios (206Pb/207Pb and 208Pb/206Pb) were carried out. The obtained re…
Exposure to trace elements by hair mineral analysis. Mining , volcanic and urban areas
2015
Concerns about the effects of environmental exposure to metals and metalloids on human health have driven the scientific community to find reliable tools and methodologies for assessing the impact of emission of toxic metals from anthropogenic sources or through natural anomalous levels of metals in water, soil and air. Biological monitoring has been extensively employed with this end in view and blood, urine, hair and nails are the biological materials mostly collected and analyzed for the levels of multiple metals. With respect to blood and urine, whose metal concentrations decrease rapidly after the exposure period, hair and nails appear to be of greater value in evaluating past and cont…
Lead isotopes in biological matrices to identify potential sources of contamination: the case study of Sulcis-Iglesiente district (SW Sardinia, Italy)
2017
The Sulcis-Iglesiente district has been, until recently, one of the most important Italian polymetallic mining areas for the extraction of lead. Located close to the town of Iglesias, the San Giorgio area constitutes a dramatic example of an area affected by intense mine pollution. Epidemiological studies regarding the mining areas of Sardinia have indicated the Sulcis-Iglesiente as a typical example of how dispersion of metal can affect human health. We have chosen this peculiar area to evaluate whether a supposed prolonged and continuous exposure to high lead concentration can be detected by means of a bio-monitoring procedure that uses the analysis of human scalp hair and the measurement…