Health risk assessment for typical and abandoned chromium-contaminated sites

Chromium pollution were investigated by sampling the abandoned chromium contaminated sites in Chongqing. Its health risk was assessed following the procedures made by USEPA. The results showed that the most seriously polluted land was found at the former production area （G4） with average Cr（VI） concentration of 3369.2 mg kg-1 on the surface soil. The assessment indicated that there was high risk of non-carcinogens for children. The assessed risk of the first layer of office area （G1） for children, chromium slag transition （G2）, drainage pipeline chromium slag transition （G3） and production area （G4） for both children and adults were not acceptable （〉1.00× 106）. It was strongly suggested that the accessible measures of remediation should be taken for a portion of contaminated sites before the reuse of abandoned lands.     

Environmental fate and health exposures of the geogenic and anthropogenic contaminants in potable groundwater of Lower Ganga Basin,India

The study evaluated the sources and controlling factors of the groundwater contaminants in an agroeconomic region of Lower Ganga Basin using principal component analysis (PCA), multivariable linear regressions (MLR), correlation analysis, and hierarchical cluster analysis, and evaluated the public health risks using the Latin Hypercube Sampling, goodness-of-fit statistics, Monte Carlo simulation and Sobol sensitivity analysis based on the 1000 samples collected in two sampling cycles (N = 1000). The study reveals that the dissolution of fluoride-bearing minerals and semi-arid climate regulate the fluoride concentrations (0.10–18.25 mg/L) in groundwater. Extensive application of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers and livestock manure mainly contributed to elevated nitrate levels (up to 435.0 mg/L) in groundwater. The health risks analysis indicates that fluoride exposure is more prevalent in the residents of each age group than the nitrate and both contaminants exhibited higher non-carcinogenic health risks on the infant and child (minor) age groups compared to adolescents and adults. Based on the cokriging interpolation mapping, the minor residents of 17.88%–23.15% of the total area (4545.0 km²) are vulnerable to methemoglobinemia whereas the residents of all age-groups in 38.47%–44.45% of the total area are susceptible to mild to severe dental/skeletal fluorosis owing to consumption of untreated nitrate and fluoride enriched groundwater. The Sobol sensitivity indices revealed contaminant levels, groundwater intake rate and their collective effects are the most influential factors to pose potential health risks on the residents. Artificial recharge and rainwater harvesting practices should be adopted to improve the groundwater quality and the residents are advised to drink purified groundwater.     

山东省沂南县东部土壤重金属生态健康风险评价

【研究目的】 山东是中国矿业与农业发达省份、沂南县东部堪称其代表。掌握当地土壤重金属污染及对生态健康风险的影响对生态环境保护有重要意义。【研究方法】 系统调查分析表层土壤样品4779件,获取Hg、Cd、Cr、Ni、As、Cu、Pb、Zn等元素分布最新数据,并用地累积指数法、潜在生态危害指数法和健康风险评估模型等评价研究了生态健康风险及相关问题。【研究结果】 （1）上述重金属均量与临沂市土壤背景值大致相当,仅Hg略偏高且变异系数最大,指示当地土壤Hg受人类活动影响明显。与国家农用地土壤污染风险筛选值相比,Cu、Cr、Ni是相对主要超标元素,As、Cd、Cu、Pb超标倍数大,它们均可能会产生生态健康危害;（2）据地累积指数平均值,该区土壤总体无污染,据单样值,Hg、Cu污染最突出,其他6元素污染较轻;（3）生态风险方面,Hg、Cd是主要生态风险元素,As、Cu次之。高生态风险区为铜井镇南东部、界湖镇西北金场附近以及县城西部主城区3个片区;（4）人体健康风险方面,重金属对成人不具有非致癌风险和致癌风险,极个别地区对儿童具有非致癌风险和致癌风险,Cr、As是主要非致癌风险元素,As致癌风险最大。【结论】 沂南县东部土壤质量总体较好,铜井镇南东部、界湖镇西北金场附近以及县城西部主城区3个片区为高生态风险区,Hg、Cr、As为主要生态健康风险元素。     

赣南北部黄陂河流域离子型稀土矿地区水质与健康风险评价

水质安全和健康是保障中国赣南老区乡村振兴发展的重要因素。赣南离子型稀土矿长期开发利用,导致浸矿剂和矿体中重金属元素等危害人体健康的物质进入水循环系统,给周边乡村饮用水卫生安全带来了潜在风险。目前,针对当地复垦后稀土矿及周边地区水质和健康风险缺乏系统调查评价,本文以《生活饮用水卫生标准》(GB 5749—2006)为评价依据,选择赣南北部黄陂河流域典型离子型稀土矿及周边的水体开展调查研究,采用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱/质谱等技术测定锰、镉等元素含量,采用水质指数(WQI)、危害商(HQ)、致癌风险(CR)评价了锰和铅等9种指标及其健康风险。结果表明：地表水中的异常指标有氨氮(平均值750μg/L)、锰(平均值207μg/L),地下水中的异常指标有氨氮(平均值4533μg/L)、锰(平均值4009μg/L);世界卫生组织(WHO)公布的Ⅰ类致癌物砷在地表水及地下水均未见异常。WQI显示研究区内85.7%的地表水适宜饮用。地表水及地下水中氨氮的HQ平均值<1,对人类健康没有不良影响;地下水中锰的HQ平均值>1,可能会对人类健康产生不良影响。地表水及地下水中致癌元素砷的CR值分布区...     

四川邻水县华蓥山—西槽土壤Cu地球化学特征与生态健康

铜(Cu)是人体所必需的微量元素,目前我国还没有农作物Cu含量的推荐值,更缺少开发富Cu土地资源的土壤Cu含量标准。本文以四川省邻水县华蓥山—西槽耕地区为研究区,根据1∶5万土地质量地球化学调查获取的表层土壤、农作物及根系土中Cu含量数据调查结果,研究了土壤与农作物中Cu的含量及分布特征,分析了玉米籽实Cu生物富集系数(BAF)的影响因素,构建了玉米籽实Cu的BAF预测模型,提出了开发富Cu玉米和富Cu土地资源的Cu含量最佳赋值范围。研究结果显示:(1)研究区表层土壤Cu含量范围为(3.33～173)×10^-6,平均值、中位值分别为26.85×10^-6、25.60×10^-6。土壤Cu高值区主要分布在邻水县华蓥山玄武岩、碳酸盐岩与炭质页岩为成土母岩的地区,土壤Cu低值区分布在西槽侏罗系砂页岩为成土母岩的地区。(2)研究区玉米籽实Cu含量范围为(0.80～2.71)×10^-6,平均值为1.76×10^-6,中位值为1.82×10^-6。(3)为保证人体摄入Cu安全...     

Classifying high-prevalence neighborhoods for cardiovascular disease in Texas

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one cause of death in the state of Texas. In order to develop effective healthcare policies to combat CVD, it is essential to understand what types of communities are most affected. In this paper, we develop a classification scheme to segment high-prevalence communities based on selected social and demographic characteristics. We find that while many high-prevalence areas reflect traditional relationships between socioeconomic deprivation and poor health outcomes, a subset of more affluent communities in Texas are also affected. This suggests the importance of tailored approaches to prevention that account for this diversity among high-prevalence neighborhoods.     

Using simulated data to investigate the spatial patterns of obesity prevalence at the census tract level in metropolitan Detroit

Obesity is a serious public health problem in the United States. It is important to estimate obesity prevalence at the local level to target programmatic and policy interventions. It is challenging, however, to obtain local estimates of obesity prevalence because national health surveys such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) are not designed to produce direct estimates at the local levels (e.g. census tracts) due to small population samples and the need to preserve individual confidentiality. In this study we address the problem of estimating local obesity prevalence rates by implementing a spatial microsimulation modeling technique to proportionally replicate the demographic characteristics of BRFSS respondents to census tract populations in metropolitan Detroit. Obesity prevalence rates are examined for high and low spatial clusters and studied in relation to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) measures of low-income neighborhoods and local food deserts and CDC's measure of healthy and less healthy food environments currently used to target obesity reduction initiatives. This study found that obesity prevalence was largely clustered in the City of Detroit extending north into contiguous suburbs. The spatial patterns of highest obesity prevalence tracts were most similarly aligned with USDA-defined low-income tracts and CDC's less healthy food tracts. The locations of USDA's food desert tracts rarely overlapped with the highest obesity prevalence tracts. This study demonstrated a new methodology by which to assess local areas in need of future obesity interventions.     

Shifting production/shifting consumption: A political ecology of health perceptions in Kumaon,India

Despite rapid economic growth, India has not seen the improvements in food and nutritional security that other developing countries have had. This “Asian enigma” has generated a wealth of economistic analyses seeking to explain the persistence of poor nutrition, yet few studies have looked at everyday experiences of changing food systems, and how this impacts nutritional practices as well as the processes of subject formation. In this paper, I draw on qualitative research conducted in Uttarakhand, North India and examine how state-led shifts in agricultural production have resulted in changing food consumption practices and diminished perceptions of health. Villagers link this decreased health to increased chemicals in home-produced food, greater dependence on the market for food purchases, and generational changes in dietary preferences. Despite villagers’ cognizance of the negative health effects of these practices, they largely view these byproducts of capitalistic development with an air of inevitability. Following Mansfield (2011) this paper contributes to the political ecology of health literature by employing the concept of food as a “vector of intercorporeality” (Stassart and Whatmore, 2003:449) and bringing this into conversation with a poststructuralist understanding of subjectivity. I argue that within shifting landscapes of agriculture production and food consumption, notions of diminished health are indicative of the complex and always incomplete processes of subject formation. I view shifting health perceptions as intimate bodily resistances to agricultural development, and conclude that within agricultural development programs a focus on bodily health and well-being is a fecund platform for further experimental research that seeks to imagine development differently.     

Assessing the institutional capacity to adapt to climate change: a case study in the Cambodian health and water sectors

Institutional capacity is an important element for climate change adaptation (CCA) and the development of such capacity is a great challenge in a Least Developed Country like Cambodia where resources are limited. An important first step to increasing capacity is via an understanding of the level of existing capacity; future priorities can then be subsequently identified. This study aimed to assess the capacity of organizations to implement climate change activities in Cambodia in order to provide such a basis for building capacity. Four elements of capacity were investigated in this research: (1) financial resources, (2) cooperation and coordination of stakeholders, (3) availability and quality of information on vulnerability and adaptation to climate change, and (4) the level of understanding of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. The data were collected through semistructured interviews with a wide range of government and non-government informants across a number of sectors. Results of the study showed that informants perceived capacity for CCA to be very constrained, especially in terms of financial resources and cooperation, and addressing these factors was ranked as the highest climate change capacity priority. Institutional capacity constraints were considered to relate more generally to weak governance of CCA. In light of our research findings, the absence of local higher education institutions in CCA activities should be addressed. The support of such institutions would provide an important mechanism to progress both capacity development as well as partnerships and coordination between different types of organizations and relevant sectors.

Policy relevance

Capacity for CCA within Cambodian health and water sectors was perceived to be very constrained across a range of interdependent factors. Increasing funding was ranked as the highest priority for building capacity for CCA; however, governance factors such as ‘improved cooperation’ were also ranked highly. Improving stakeholders' awareness of the availability of adaptation funds and resources, and their responsiveness to funding criteria, is an important implication of our research, as is improving the mobilization of local resources and the private sector. To address the issue of weak cooperation among stakeholders, improving the coordination function of the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) regarding stakeholder engagement and capacity building is crucial. Ensuring that CCA activities are based on sound information and knowledge from across different disciplines and, importantly, include the perspectives of vulnerable people themselves, ultimately underpins and supports the realization of the above priorities.     

CLINICALLY APPLIED MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY: ITS ROLE IN TRAVEL MEDICINE

Medical geography frequently contributes to public health, but rarely are medical geographic concepts applied in clinical settings. This article describes the application of medical geographic concepts to an academic travel and tropical medicine clinical service at University Hospital in Seattle, and reviews the role of a medical geographer in this particular clinical setting. Applied concepts of medical geography improve the quality of patient care for overseas travellers and recent immigrants to the United States.