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Evaluation of respiratory function and biomarkers of exposure to mixtures of pollutants in brick-kilns workers from a marginalized urban area in Mexico

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Abstract

Brick-kilns are polluted environments due to the use of low-quality technologies and fuels, which generates black fumes with a large number of pollutants. The objective of this research was to analyze environmental exposure and biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and respiratory health in brickmakers to assess the baseline state of contamination in a brick-kiln area of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Lead was quantified in soil and particulate matter of 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and 10 μm (PM10) in brick-kiln areas. In brickmakers, lead was evaluated in whole blood and 10 hydroxylated metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in urine. Respiratory health was assessed by spirometry, exhaled breath condensate, and a COPD-PS questionnaire. Data association was performed by Spearman correlation. Environmental concentrations and biomarkers of exposure are presented as medians, for lead, it was 60.4 mg/kg, for PM10, it was 2663.1 μg/m3, and for PM2.5, it was 166.6 μg/m3. For blood lead, it was 1.06 μg/dL, and the summed concentration of OH-PAHs in urine was 16.1 μg/L. Spirometry values were 2.8 ± 0.6 L and 2.9 ± 1.3 L/s FEV1 and FEV 25-75 respectively. The correlation results indicate that the older the age of the workers is and the extensive period they have been working, their lung function is affected the most. The health vulnerability present in these occupational activities is high, so it is necessary to make visible, address these economic activities in Mexico, and apply surveillance systems based on the health of the worker.

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Funding

This study is supported by grants and fellowships from the National Council on Science and Technology- Sectoral Research FOSEC SS/IMSS/ISSSTE # A3-S-38681.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación Aplicada en Ambiente y Salud (CIAAS), Avenida Sierra Leona No. 550, CP 78210, Colonia Lomas Segunda Sección, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México

    Alejandra Abigail Berumen-Rodríguez, Lorena Díaz de León-Martínez, Blanca Nohemí Zamora-Mendoza, Heidi Orta-Arellanos, Kelvin Saldaña-Villanueva & Fernando Díaz-Barriga

  2. Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Central “Dr. Ignacio Morones Prieto”, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México

    Alejandro Gómez-Gómez

  3. CONACYT Research Fellow, Coordinación para la Innovación y Aplicación de la Ciencia y la Tecnología (CIACYT), Avenida Sierra Leona No. 550, CP 78210, Colonia Lomas Segunda Section, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México

    Valter Barrera-López, Francisco Javier Pérez-Vázquez & Rogelio Flores-Ramírez

Authors
  1. Alejandra Abigail Berumen-Rodríguez
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  2. Lorena Díaz de León-Martínez
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  10. Rogelio Flores-Ramírez
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Contributions

ABR: Writing, Conceptualization, Sampling, Analytical methods; LDLM: Conceptualization and Analytical methods, Writing and Editing; BZM: Conceptualization and Analytical methods, HOA: Sampling and Conceptualization; KSV: Sampling and Conceptualization; VBL: Sampling and Conceptualization; AGG: Analytical methods, Writing and editing; HOA: Sampling and Conceptualization; FJPV: Sampling, Writing; FDB: Conceptualization, Writing and Editing; RFR: Conceptualization, Sampling, Analytical methods Writing and Editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rogelio Flores-Ramírez.

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The protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi and the Bioethics Commission of the State of San Luis Potosi (CEI-2018-002).

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Berumen-Rodríguez, A.A., Díaz de León-Martínez, L., Zamora-Mendoza, B.N. et al. Evaluation of respiratory function and biomarkers of exposure to mixtures of pollutants in brick-kilns workers from a marginalized urban area in Mexico. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 67833–67842 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15375-3

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