Biomaterial Database

Community exposure to arsenic in the Mekong river delta, Southern Vietnam. 2011

Hoang Thi Hanh, and Kyoung-Woong Kim, and Sunbaek Bang, and Nguyen My Hoa

School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, 261 Cheom-dan, Gwagiro, Bukgu, Gwangju, 500-712, Republic of Korea.

We examined the daily inorganic arsenic (i-As) intake from drinking water and rice in 45 households (75 individuals) in the An Giang province, Southern Vietnam. The daily i-As intake ranged from 28-102 μg d(-1), equivalent to the daily dose of 0.6-1.9 μg d(-1) kg((body wt))(-1). Increased As concentrations were observed in human hair in the study location. Approximately 67% (n = 44), 42% (n = 28), and 15% (n = 10) of the hair samples had As levels exceeding 1, 3, and 10 μg g(-1), respectively. The total As concentrations in female and male hair correlated well with the total daily i-As intake. Measurement of As concentrations in the hair of people who were consuming or had previously consumed As from contaminated sources may help predict the onset of negative health effects. We suggested an application of the Bayes's theorem to calculate the probability that an individual in a population will acquire a negative health effect, given that the concentration of arsenic in the subject's hair has been determined.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D004032	Diet	Regular course of eating and drinking adopted by a person or animal.	Diets
D004781	Environmental Exposure	The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.	Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D004785	Environmental Pollutants	Substances or energies, for example heat or light, which when introduced into the air, water, or land threaten life or health of individuals or ECOSYSTEMS.	Environmental Pollutant,Pollutant,Pollutants,Pollutants, Environmental,Pollutant, Environmental
D005260	Female		Females
D006197	Hair	A filament-like structure consisting of a shaft which projects to the surface of the SKIN from a root which is softer than the shaft and lodges in the cavity of a HAIR FOLLICLE. It is found on most surfaces of the body.	Fetal Hair,Hair, Fetal,Lanugo,Fetal Hairs,Hairs,Hairs, Fetal
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D001151	Arsenic	A shiny gray element with atomic symbol As, atomic number 33, and atomic weight 75. It occurs throughout the universe, mostly in the form of metallic arsenides. Most forms are toxic. According to the Fourth Annual Report on Carcinogens (NTP 85-002, 1985), arsenic and certain arsenic compounds have been listed as known carcinogens. (From Merck Index, 11th ed)	Arsenic-75,Arsenic 75
D012275	Oryza	A genus of grass family (Poaceae) that include several rice species.	Oryza sativa,Rice,Rices
D014744	Vietnam	A country in southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, as well as China, Laos, and Cambodia. The capital is Hanoi.	North Vietnam,Viet Nam,Vietnam, Republic of