Current exposure to environmental pollutants in the general adult population of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)_ A cross-sectional study.pdf
Biomonitoring; Toxic metals; Organochlorine compounds; General population; Kinshasa
Abstract :
[en] Background : Environmental pollution is a serious public health problem because of its adverse effects on both human health and biodiversity. In Western countries, many human biomonitoring (HBM) studies are conducted to assess population exposure to pollutants. In contrast, the number of HBM studies in Africa is very low.
Objective : To measure contamination by arsenic, lead, 4,4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (4,4′-DDE) and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) in the adult population of Kinshasa and to identify the susceptible population.
Methods : In the present work, we measured the contamination by arsenic in urine and lead in blood and by 4,4′-DDE and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) in serum in samples collected from 151 volunteers recruited in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Results : The PCBs 180, -153 and −138 were detected in most samples with median concentrations of 0.04, 0.05 and 0.04 ng/ml, respectively. The median concentration of 4,4′-DDE was 0.83 ng/ml and 12.7% of our population showed contamination above the threshold of 3.675 ng/ml, which is associated with a significantly higher risk of cancer. Arsenic concentrations were also high (median: 48.1 μg/L in urine). Finally, exposure to lead is problematic: the median blood concentration was 54.9 μg/L, which is above the thresholds proposed by the WHO and the US CDC (50 μg/L and 35 μg/L respectively) to initiate clinical intervention, and 12.6% of the population had a lead level above 100 μg/L, which is associated with several health outcomes.
Conclusions : Our results highlight the need for further HBM studies in Africa and should encourage the authorities of the DRC to implement laws and regulations to reduce pollution and population exposure.
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