Environmental exposure to uranium in a population living in close proximity to gold mine tailings in South Africa
Environmental exposure to uranium in a population living in close proximity to gold mine tailings in South Africa
Zupunski, L.; Street, R.; Ostroumova, E.; Winde, F.; Sachs, S.; Geipel, G.; Nkosi, V.; Bouaoun, L.; Haman, T.; Schüz, J.; Mathee, A.
Background: Gold mining activities in South Africa resulted in contamination of residential environment with uranium-rich wastes from mine tailings. Health of the people living around the mine tailings could be affected by uranium exposure due to its hazardous chemotoxic and radiological properties.
Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess i) uranium (U) concentrations in individual hair samples of children and adults living in close proximity to mine tailings in Northeast-Soweto in Johannesburg, South Africa, and ii) the association between U concentrations in hair and various factors, including zone of residence, socio-demographic and housing characteristics. Sampling sites were divided into three zones based on the distance between a dwelling and a cluster of mine tailings (zone 1: <= 500 m, zone 2: 2-3 km away, zone 3: 4-5 km away). U concentrations in hair samples were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. To test the association between U concentrations and selected factors we used robust regression models with log-transformed U concentrations.
Keywords: natural uranium; gold mine tailings; health; environmental pollution; scalp hair; South Africa
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Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 77(2023), 127141
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2023.127141
Cited 2 times in Scopus
Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-34408