Concentrations of thallium in water, soil, vegetablesand biological specimens of an eastern Croatian population

Abstract

Korištenjem metode masene spektrometrije induktivno spregnutom plazmom (ICP-MS), izmjerili smo koncentracije talija u vodi, zemlji, povrću i u biološkim uzorcima (urinu, serumu i kosi) 501 stanovnika iz 8 naselja na području istočne Hrvatske (Vladislavci, Dalj, Čepin, Našice, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Slavonski Brod i Osijek). Cilj rada je bio odrediti referentne vrijednosti koncentracija talija u različitim navedenim uzorcima za spomenuto područje te usporediti rezultate s drugim analizama koje su se odvijale na sličnom prostoru. ICP-MS metoda je uspjela izmjeriti razine talija u većini analiziranih uzoraka osim u kosi i u serumu gdje su koncentracije često bile ispod granice detekcije. Analizom uzoraka i obradom podataka dobiveni su slijedeći rezultati u obliku centralnih vrijednosti (medijana): raspon koncentracija talija u urinu iznosio je od 0,059-0,161 μg $L^{-1}$. Dobivene koncentracije za serum bile su u rasponu od <0,001-0,021 μg $L^{-1}$, a za kosu od <0,001 do 0,0356 μg $g^{-1}$. U vodi je određena koncentracija od 0,003 μg $L^{-1}$ , dok je za zemlju vrijednost iznosila od 0,10-0,61 mg $kg^{-1}$ . Za maslačak srednje vrijednosti su bile u rasponu od 2,95-19,20 μg $kg^{-1}$ , dok su za kupus bile u rasponu od 22,2-174,6 μg $kg^{-1}$ .Using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we measured the concentrations of thallium in water, soil, vegetables and in biological samples (urine, serum, and hair) taken from 501 residents of settlements located in the eastern part of Croatia (Vladislavci, Dalj, Čepin, Našice, Vinkovci, Vukovar, Slavonski Brod i Osijek). The aim of this paper was to determine reference values of thallium concentrations in different samples for the given area and to compare our results with other measurements which occurred in nearby regions. ICP-MS was successful in measuring levels of thallium in most of the analyzed samples, except within the hair and in serum where concentrations were often below the detection limit. With the analysis of collected samples, and processing of its data, we have obtained the next results in median values: concentration range of thallium in urine was between 0,059-0,161 μg $L^{-1}$ . Concentrations for serum were between <0,001 and 0,021 μg $L^{-1}$, and for hair between <0,001-0,0356 μg $g^{-1}$. In water, the measured concentration was at 0,003 μg $L^{-1}$, while in the soil it was between 0,10-0,61 mg $kg^{-1}$. In dandelion median concentration values were between 2,95-19,20 μg $kg^{-1}$ , while in cabbage they were between 22,2 and 174,6 μg $kg^{-1}$