Geo-Spatial Characterization of Soil Mercury and Arsenic at a High-Altitude Bolivian Gold Mine.

Soil mercury concentrations at a typical small-scale mine site in the Bolivian Andes were elevated (28-737 mg/kg or ppm) in localized areas where mercury amalgams were either formed or vaporized to release gold, but was not detectable beyond approximately 10 m from its sources. Arsenic was measurable, exceeding known background levels throughout the mine site (77-137,022 ppm), and was also measurable through the local village of Ingenio (36-1803 ppm). Although arsenic levels were high at all surveyed locations, its spatial pattern followed mercury, being highest where mercury was high.

Characterization and risk of exposure to elements from artisanal gold mining operations in the Bolivian Andes.

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) offers low-skilled workers an opportunity to elevate themselves out of poverty. However, this industry operates with little to no pollution controls and the cost to the environment and human health can be large. The objectives of this study were to measure levels of arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in the environment and characterize health risks to miners and residents in an area with active ASGM operations. An exposure assessment was conducted at two different mining sites and a nearby village in the Bolivian Anders. The resulting measurements were then used to quantify cancerous and noncancerous health risks to children and adults working at and living near ASGM areas. Soil concentrations of As were well above background levels and showed great variations between the village and mining area. Mercury vapor levels at the two mining sites were approximately 30 times larger than the EPA reference concentration. The risk of developing non-cancerous health effects were primarily due to exposure to As and Hg. The probability of individuals developing cancer was considerably increased with adult miners having a probability of 1.3 out of 100. Cancer potential was driven by exposure to As, with de minimus cancer risk from all other elements. Based on the environmental characterization of elements in soils and Hg vapors, the risk of developing cancerous and non-cancerous health outcomes were above a level of concern based on EPA risk assessment guidance. Personal protective equipment was not worn by workers and Hg amalgam is commonly heated in workers' homes. Better education of the risks of ASGM is needed as well as simple controls to reduce exposure.

Impact of AhRR (565C > G) polymorphism on dioxin dependent CYP1A2 induction.

The current study uses the metabolic probe, antipyrine, and AhRR transcript expression (qRT-PCR) to examine the impact of the AhRR (565C > G or Pro185Ala, rs2292596) genetic polymorphism upon CYP1A2 inducibility in an established cohort of male firefighters with exposure to dioxin-like chemicals. The lipid adjusted concentrations of 29 dioxin and dioxin-like congeners were measured in serum. Possession of the G allele (CG and GG genotypes) was correlated with high expression AhRR transcript and lower CYP1A2 induction than found in individuals homozygous for CC. The induction of CYP1A2 was dioxin-dependent among carriers of the G allele. Multivariate models indicated that CYP1A2 activity, detected as urinary 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine, was significantly correlated with cotinine concentration and for those currently working as firefighters, dioxin body burden (ß = 0.54, p = 0.041). The efficacy of the AhRR in regulating the AhR signaling pathway is influenced by the AhRR (565C > G) polymorphism. Our study of firefighters using the induction of CYP1A2 as an indicator suggest that G allele proteins have variable AhR repressor activity which is manifested in a dioxin-dependent manner. These results provide evidence of metabolic differences that may affect susceptibility to dioxin-mediated health effects.

Effects of blood lead on coronary artery disease and its risk factors: a Mendelian Randomization study.

Lead is pervasive, although lead exposure has fallen in response to public health efforts. Observationally, lead is positively associated with cardiovascular disease and hypertension. We used separate-sample instrumental variable analysis with genetic instruments (Mendelian randomization) based on 13 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), from a genome wide association study, strongly (p-value < 5 × 10-6) and independently associated with blood lead. These SNPs were applied to a large extensively genotyped coronary artery disease (CAD) study (cases = <76014, controls = <264785) largely based on CARDIoGRAPMplusC4D 1000 Genomes and the UK Biobank SOFT CAD, to the UK Biobank (n = 361,194) for blood pressure and to the DIAGRAM 1000 genomes diabetes case (n = 26,676)-control (n = 132,532) study. SNP-specific Wald estimates were combined using inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO. Genetically instrumented blood lead was not associated with CAD (odds ratio (OR) 1.01 per effect size of log transformed blood lead, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.97, 1.05), blood pressure (systolic -0.18 mmHg, 95% CI -0.44 to 0.08 and diastolic -0.03 mmHg, 95% CI -0.09 to 0.15) or diabetes (OR 0.98, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.03) using MR-PRESSO estimates corrected for an outlier SNP (rs550057) from the highly pleiotropic gene ABO. Exogenous lead may have different effects from endogenous lead; nevertheless, this study raises questions about the role of blood lead in CAD.

Impact of dioxins on antipyrine metabolism in firefighters.

Antipyrine (AP) metabolism was used to assess factors associated with the activity of hepatic oxidative enzymes in firefighters. Emphasis was placed on 3-hydroxymethylantipyrine (3HMAP), the metabolite with the greatest dependence on dioxin-inducible cytochrome P4501A2 (CYP1A2) activity. AP urinary metabolites were measured by HPLC in 38 male subjects from Eastern Siberia. Subjects were divided into three groups having similar ages and BMIs: current firefighters (n=11); former firefighters (n=17) and non-firefighters (n=10). Multiple regression models were constructed using the three major AP metabolites as a dependent variable to assess the influence of age, smoking as urinary cotinine concentration, dioxin exposure (as either WHO-TEQ or body burden), group, and CYP1A2*F (-163C>A) genotypes. Models for the proportion of dose excreted as the metabolite 3HMAP produced the best fit (adjusted R(2)=0.46, p<0.05). When the models were restricted to current firefighters, only those based on 3HMAP were statistically significant (adjusted R(2) of 0.80 (p<0.002)) due to contributions from urinary cotinine (ß=0.56, p<0.01) and dioxin expressed as body burden (ß=0.55, p=0.014). These results indicate that the antipyrine test can be used as metabolic probe of biological response to recent dioxin exposure provided the impact of smoking is carefully controlled.

CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 genotypes, haplotypes, and TCDD-induced gene expression in subjects from Seveso, Italy.

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is highly toxic in experimental animals, and is known to induce cytochrome P450 (CYP) gene expression. We investigated the effect of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 variant genotypes and haplotypes on CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 mRNA expression and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in lymphocytes from 121 subjects from the Seveso population, Italy, accidentally exposed to TCDD in 1976. The 3'UTR 3801T>C and I462V variants of CYP1A1 were present in 16% and 6% of the subjects, respectively. The frequency of CYP1B1 variants was 85.2% for L432V, 49.6% for R48G and A119S, and 28.7% for N453S. There was complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) among the CYP1B1 variant loci (D'=-1) and high LD among the CYP1A1 loci (D'=0.86). Gene expression measured by RT-PCR did not vary by CYP1B1 genotype in uncultured lymphocytes. However, when lymphocytes were treated in vitro with 10 nM TCDD, CYP1B1 and CYP1A1 mRNA expression was strongly induced and modified by CYP variant alleles. Specifically, the CYP1B1*3 haplotype (L432V) was associated with increased CYP1B1 mRNA expression (P=0.03), following an additive model; the CYP1A1 I462V polymorphism was positively, although not significantly, associated with CYP1A1 expression. The CYP1B1*3 variant may have affected CYP1B1 expression in subjects highly and acutely exposed to dioxin at the time of the accident. Although based on small number of subjects, a slight increase in eczema (P=0.05, n=8) and urticaria (P=0.02, n=2) was observed 20 years after the accident in subjects carrying the CYP1B1*3 allele. Genetic variation in cytochrome P450 induction may identify subjects with variable responsiveness to TCDD and potentially increased risk of disease.

Identifying individual risk factors and documenting the pattern of heat-related illness through analyses of hospitalization and patterns of household cooling.

BACKGROUND: As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events researchers and public health officials must work towards understanding the causes and outcomes of heat-related morbidity and mortality. While there have been many studies on both heat-related illness (HRI), there are fewer on heat-related morbidity than on heat-related mortality. OBJECTIVE: To identify individual and environmental risk factors for hospitalizations and document patterns of household cooling. METHODS: We performed a pooled cross-sectional analysis of secondary U.S. data, the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Risk ratios were calculated from multivariable models to identify risk factors for hospitalizations. Hierarchical modeling was also employed to identify relationships between individual and hospital level predictors of hospitalizations. Patterns of air conditioning use were analyzed among the vulnerable populations identified. RESULTS: Hospitalizations due to HRI increased over the study period compared to all other hospitalizations. Populations at elevated risk for HRI hospitalization were blacks, males and all age groups above the age of 40. Those living in zip-codes in the lowest income quartile and the uninsured were also at an increased risk. Hospitalizations for HRI in rural and small urban clusters were elevated, compared to urban areas. CONCLUSIONS: Risk factors for HRI include age greater than 40, male gender and hospitalization in rural areas or small urban clusters. Our analysis also revealed an increasing pattern of HRI hospitalizations over time and decreased association between common comorbidities and heat illnesses which may be indicative of underreporting.

Aryl-hydrocarbon receptor-dependent pathway and toxic effects of TCDD in humans: a population-based study in Seveso, Italy.

Approximately 20 years after the Seveso, Italy accident, we conducted a population-based study to evaluate the impact of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure upon immune and mechanistically based biomarkers of dioxin response in humans. TCDD toxic effects are known to be mediated by the aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We randomly selected 62 study subjects from the highest exposed zones and 59 from the surrounding non-contaminated area. Current lipid-adjusted plasma TCDD concentrations in these subjects ranged from 3.5 to 90 ng/kg (or ppt) and were negatively associated with plasma IgG concentrations (r=-0.35; P = 0.0002). The expression of genes in the AhR-dependent pathway, including AhR, aryl-hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 transcripts, and the CYP1A1-associated 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was measured in lymphocytes. AhR mRNA levels in uncultured lymphocytes were negatively associated with plasma TCDD (P=0.03). When mitogen-induced lymphocytes were cultured with 10nM TCDD, all AhR-dependent genes were induced 1.2- to 13-fold. In these cells, plasma TCDD was associated with decreased EROD activity. Markers within the AhR pathway were correlated with one another. Our findings suggest the presence of long-term effects in the subjects exposed to TCDD after the Seveso accident.

PCDD, PCDF, and PCB exposure in current and former firefighters from Eastern Siberia.

The current study examines whether the occupation of firefighting contributes to exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We compared serum dioxin concentrations and congener profiles of current firefighters (n=13) with those of men who have ceased employment as firefighters (n=17) and with men employed in occupations other than firefighter (n=10). We found that compared to former or non-firefighters, current firefighters have higher levels of dioxins primarily due to the contribution of PCBs and to a lesser extent PCDFs. PCDFs were significantly higher in former firefighters compared to non-firefighters (p<0.05). Comparisons with studies performed by other investigators suggest that local environmental conditions contribute to some of the elevation of PCBs. The congeners 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzodioxin and PCB-114 were significantly higher in current firefighters when compared to former or non-firefighters. Moreover, levels of these congeners were inversely correlated with years since employed as firefighter (Spearman r=-0.610, p=0.009 and Spearman r=-0.53, p=0.03, respectively). The classes of dioxins show an overall decline with years since employed as firefighters, this decline is most evident with PCDDs (Spearman r=-0.46, p=0.06). Together, the combination of evidence supports firefighting as a source of exposure to dioxins.

TCDD-mediated alterations in the AhR-dependent pathway in Seveso, Italy, 20 years after the accident.

Approximately 20 years after the Seveso, Italy, accident we conducted a population-based study to evaluate the impact of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure on cancer using mechanistically based biomarkers of dioxin response in humans. TCDD toxic effects are mediated by the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We studied the AhR-dependent pathway in lymphocytes from 62 subjects randomly sampled from the highest exposed zones and 59 subjects from the surrounding non-contaminated area, frequency matched for age, gender and smoking. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive investigation to date designed to evaluate the key genes in the pathway, including AhR, aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator, CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 transcripts and CYP1A1-associated 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in a population heavily exposed to dioxin. Current lipid-adjusted plasma TCDD concentrations in these subjects ranged from 3.5 to 90 ng/kg (or p.p.t.) and were negatively associated with AhR mRNA in unstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (P = 0.03). When mitogen-induced lymphocytes were cultured with 10 nM TCDD, all AhR-dependent genes were induced 1.2- to 13-fold. In these cells, plasma TCDD was associated with decreased EROD activity. In addition, there was a strong positive correlation between AhR and CYP1A1 expression (P = 0.001) and between AhR and CYP1B1 expression (P = 0.006). CYP1A1 expression was also strongly correlated with EROD activity (P = 0.001). The analysis of the expression of dioxin-inducible genes involved in carcinogenesis may help in determining dose-response relationships for human exposure to dioxin in vivo and in assessing the variability of human response, which may indicate the presence of subjects more susceptible to disease as a result of such exposures.