Environmental presence of uranium and exposure to uranium and thorium in children living in Alcalá de Henares (Spain)

  1. Peña Fernández, Antonio 2
  2. Higueras, Manuel 1
  3. Evans, Mark D. 2
  4. Lobo Bedmar, M.carmen 3
  1. 1 Dptº de Matemáticas y Computación, Universidad de La Rioja, Logroño, Spain.
  2. 2 Leicester School of Allied Health Sciences, De Montfort University, Leicester, LE1 9BH, UK.
  3. 3 Dptº Investigación Agroambiental. IMIDRA. Finca el Encín, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 38.2, 28800 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Revue:
ISEE Conference Abstracts

ISSN: 1078-0475

Année de publication: 2021

Volumen: 2021

Número: 1

Type: Article

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DOI: 10.1289/ISEE.2021.P-437 GOOGLE SCHOLAR

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Résumé

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Hair can be used to assess chronic exposure to natural radionuclides, as their presence can be much higher than in other human biomatrices. The aim of this study was to determine the environmental presence of uranium-238 (U) in Alcalá de Henares (Spain), and to assess the exposure to this radionuclide and thorium-232 (Th) in a representative group of children. METHODS: Scalp hair was collected from 120 children (6 to 9-years-old; 50 boys, 70 girls). U and Th were monitored by ICP-MS after appropriate removal of exogenous contamination with Triton X-100. Additionally, U was monitored in 70/167 topsoil samples sampled across all different urban parks in the city. Data was processed using ‘NADA’ statistical package. RESULTS:The limits of detection in hair were (in µg/g): U (0.0008) and Th (0.006). Uranium was detected in all the hair samples monitored, Thorium was only detected in 4.2%. Concentrations are provided as median and IQR for U [0.011 (0.007, 0.019)], and 97.5th percentile for Th (0.008). Levels of U were significantly higher (P0.001) in hair from girls (0.018 vs. 0.012). The concentrations of both radionuclides in children’s hair were of the same order of magnitude as those reported in the literature in non-exposed individuals. Levels of U were also slightly lower to those recently reported in hair from children living close to a chlor-alkali plant in the village of Flix (Catalonia, Spain). Similarly, U was detected in all topsoil samples monitored in Alcalá; median and percentiles are provided in mg/kg: 1.79 (1.20, 2.32); a concentration which is much lower than the recommended Soil Screening Value (15.5 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS:The presence of U in evaluated topsoils would not require further site-specific evaluations as this does not represent a risk for its citizens. Children living in this city show a minimal environmental exposure to U and Th. KEYWORDS: Radionuclides, uranium, human hair, monitoring, Spanish children, exposure.