Heavy metals health risk assessment for population via consumption of vegetables grown in old mining area; a case study: Banat County, Romania

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study is to measure the levels of heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb) found in common vegetables (parsley, carrot, onion, lettuce, cucumber and green beans) grown in contaminated mining areas compared with those grown in reference clear area and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the daily metal intake (DImetal) and Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for normal daily consumption of these vegetables, for male and female gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared with the reference in contaminated areas, soil and plant contents of all analyzed metals are higher, usually over normally content for Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb. Particularly, in soil, higher values than intervention threshold values (ITV) were found for Cu and Pb and higher than maximum allowable limits (MAL) for Zn, Cu, Cd and Pb for parsley roots and leaves, carrot roots, cabbage, lettuce and cucumber. DImetal and THQ values for male and female were calculated for each vegetable and metal and for which oral reference doses exist. The combined THQ values calculated are concerning in that they are usually below the safe level of THQ<1 for all vegetables grown in reference area. In contaminated Moldova Noua (M) area the combined THQ exceeded the safe level only for parsley roots, while in more contaminated Ruschita (R) area combined THQ exceeded the safe level for parsley and carrot roots, lettuce and cabbage. Cd and Pb, most toxic metals to humans, have an increasing prevalence in the combined THQ for leafy (cabbage and lettuce) and fruit vegetables (cucumber). In the root vegetables only Pb has an increasing prevalence in combined THQ values. In all areas female THQ is higher than male THQ.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this study regarding metal contents in soils, vegetables, DImetal and THQ suggest that the consumption of some vegetables (especially parsley, carrot and cabbage and less for lettuce, cucumber and green beans) is not free of risks in these areas. The complex THQ parameter use in health risk assessment of heavy metals provides a better image than using only a simple parameter (contents of metals in soils and vegetables).</p

Restaurant outbreak of Legionnaires' disease associated with a decorative fountain: an environmental and case-control study

BACKGROUND: From June to November 2005, 18 cases of community-acquired Legionnaires' disease (LD) were reported in Rapid City South Dakota. We conducted epidemiologic and environmental investigations to identify the source of the outbreak. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study that included the first 13 cases and 52 controls randomly selected from emergency department records and matched on underlying illness. We collected information about activities of case-patients and controls during the 14 days before symptom onset. Environmental samples (n = 291) were cultured for Legionella. Clinical and environmental isolates were compared using monoclonal antibody subtyping and sequence based typing (SBT). RESULTS: Case-patients were significantly more likely than controls to have passed through several city areas that contained or were adjacent to areas with cooling towers positive for Legionella. Six of 11 case-patients (matched odds ratio (mOR) 32.7, 95% CI 4.7-infinity) reported eating in Restaurant A versus 0 controls. Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1 was isolated from four clinical specimens: 3 were Benidorm type strains and 1 was a Denver type strain. Legionella were identified from several environmental sites including 24 (56%) of 43 cooling towers tested, but only one site, a small decorative fountain in Restaurant A, contained Benidorm, the outbreak strain. Clinical and environmental Benidorm isolates had identical SBT patterns. CONCLUSION: This is the first time that small fountain without obvious aerosol-generating capability has been implicated as the source of a LD outbreak. Removal of the fountain halted transmission