Study Of Uranium Concentration And Toxic Elements In Biological Samples Of Cancerous Patients In Southern Iraq
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Date
2015-04
Authors
HASSAN, ANEES ALI
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Abstract
The assay of biological samples is the preferred method for monitoring the internal exposure of radiological and toxicological contaminants in human body. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of uranium radioactivity and selected toxic elements in biological samples of Southern Iraqi cancer patients. Blood, urine and soft tissues samples were taken from three groups of male and female participants: the cancer patients group, healthy group and control group. The biological samples of the cancer patients group and healthy group were collected from three key Southern Iraqi governorates namely, Basrah, Muthanna and Dhi-Qar. These governorates were centres of intensive military activities during the Gulf wars in 1991 and 2003, and the discarded weapons are still lying in these regions. The biological samples of the control group were taken from individuals who live in Babil governorate to compare the results and evaluate the effects of pollution; as this city is free from war activities and consequently it is considered environmentally clean. The effective technique of fission track analysis with CR-39 nuclear track detector was applied to determine the concentrations of uranium in biological samples. The concentrations of toxic elements lead (Pb), nickel (Ni) and cadmium (Cd) were measured by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The levels of uranium concentrations and toxic elements in biological samples varied based on the gender, age, health state and the residential location of the participants. The mean values of uranium concentrations in blood and urine samples of the cancer patients are 2.70 ppb and 3.76 μg/l. The mean values of
uranium levels in tissue samples of the cancer patients group, which include (kidney, breast, stomach and uterus) are 6.51, 5.04, 5.22 and 4.61 μg/kg, respectively. The levels of toxic elements (Pb, Ni and Cd) in urine samples of the cancer patients group are 0.435, 0.217 and 0.115 mg/l, respectively. The mean values of (Pb, Ni and Cd) in kidney tissues of the cancer patients group are 2.21, 1.28 and 13.25 mg/l, respectively, whilst the levels of the corresponding elements in breast tissue samples of the cancer patients group are 1.65, 1.03 and 0.68 mg/l, respectively. The results show that the concentrations of uranium and toxic elements in biological samples of the cancer patients group are higher compared to the concentrations of uranium and toxic elements in biological samples of the healthy group and control group. The levels of uranium and toxic elements in biological samples of the healthy group are significantly higher than the values of the control group. This indicates that the people living in Southern Iraqi regions are exposed to high levels of uranium and toxic elements as a result of military activities during the Gulf wars. Basrah governorate records the highest concentrations of uranium and toxic elements than other governorates. Uranium concentrations in blood samples of females are significantly higher than those of males whilst uranium and toxic elements concentration in urine samples of males are significantly higher than those of females. Concentrations of uranium and toxic elements in biological samples of smokers are significantly higher than those of non-smokers. The results demonstrate that the concentrations of uranium in blood and urine samples of the healthy subjects are found to increase with age. In general, toxic element concentrations in urine samples of the subjects within 31 to 50 years old age groups are higher than other age groups which could be due to their relatively higher exposure in the environment.
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Keywords
Study Of Uranium Concentration And Toxic Elements , In Biological Samples Of Cancerous Patients In Southern Iraq