Trace metals in the environment and population as possible long term consequence of war in Osijek-Baranja County, Croatia.

War in Croatia resulted with a significant release of contaminants into the environment as a result of the use of combat assets, mainly conventional, mostly aimed at civilian targets. The aim of the study was to investigate the concentration of metals and metalloids in the soils, water, plants (Taraxacum officinale), serum, urine and hair of the inhabitants in eastern Croatia. Overall results show minor abnormalities in presence of some trace metals in soil (As, Hg, Pb, Sb), water (As, Fe) and dandelion leaves (As) in some locations. Compared with soil samples from areas exposed to low intensity combat activity soil samples from areas exposed to heavy fighting had higher concentrations of As, Hg and Pb than allowed by national legislation for ecologic farming. Drinking water with the exceptions of the concentrations of Fe, As and Mn was in accordance with national legislation. Examinees from Dalj had mean hair Sb level 10-19x higher then examinees from any other location. However, when these data are correlated through methods of principal component analysis, presence of trace metals in some war affected areas can be followed from soil, through plants up to population proving that intense combat activities over small area leave metal presence that can be followed even 15 years after the war.

Heavy metals and metalloid content in vegetables and soil collected from the gardens of Zagreb, Croatia.

Aim of this study was to determine concentration of Pb, Cd, As and Hg in green leafy vegetables and soil in the urban area of Zagreb, Croatia and to determine if there is a connection between the contamination of soil and vegetables. Green leafy vegetables and soil samples were taken from the gardens located in the outskirts of the city. Concentrations of Pb, Cd, As and Hg were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry; showing that average concentrations of metals and metalloids in vegetables and in soil, regardless of the location of sampling were below the maximum allowed concentration (MAC). The analysis determined that metal concentrations in only nine vegetable samples (9%) were above maximum allowed values prescribed by national and European legislation (three with higher concentrations of Pb, one with a higher concentration of Cd and five with higher concentrations of Hg). Concentrations of contaminants present in the analysed samples, in general, are lower than the ones published in similar studies. The final distribution and concentration of contaminants in vegetables of Zagreb, besides industry and traffic, is affected by the dominant wind direction.

Cross-sectional biomonitoring of metals in adult populations in post-war eastern Croatia: differences between areas of moderate and heavy combat.

AIM: To determine differences in metal and metalloid exposure between residents of areas in eastern Croatia exposed to heavy fighting during the war in Croatia and residents of areas exposed to moderate fighting. METHODS: Concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), uranium (U), vanadium (V), and zinc (Zn), reported to be associated with military operations, were determined in hair, serum, and urine samples using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectroscopy. A total of 127 and 46 participants from areas of heavy and moderate fighting, respectively, were included. RESULTS: Compared with participants from areas exposed to moderate fighting, participants from areas exposed to heavy fighting had significantly higher serum concentrations of Al (87.61 vs 42.75 µg/L, P=0.007), As (5.05 ∓ 1.79 vs 4.16 ∓ 1.55 µg/L, P=0.003), Ba (7.12 vs 6.01 µg/L, P=0.044), and V (17.98 vs 16.84 µg/L, P=0.008); significantly higher urine concentrations of As (43.90 vs 11.51 µg/L, P<0.001) and Cd (0.67 vs 0.50 µg/L, P=0.031); and significantly higher hair concentrations of Al (12.61 vs 7.33 µg/L, P<0.001), As (0.32 vs 0.05 µg/L, P<0.001), Cd (0.03 vs 0.02 µg/L, P=0.002), Fe (22.58 vs 12.68 µg/L, P=0.001), Pb (1.04 vs 0.69 µg/L, P=0.006), and V (0.07 vs 0.03 µg/L, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Differences between populations from eastern Croatian areas exposed to heavy and populations exposed to moderate fighting point to the need for extensive monitoring of metal and metalloid exposure, emphasizing the role of biomonitoring through ecologic and preventive activities.