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High soil and groundwater arsenic levels induce high body arsenic loads, health risk and potential anemia for inhabitants of northeastern Iran

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Abstract

Arsenic bioavailability in rock, soil and water resources is notoriously hazardous. Geogenic arsenic enters the body and adversely affects many biochemical processes in animals and humans, posing risk to public health. Chelpu is located in NE Iran, where realgar, orpiment and pyrite mineralization is the source of arsenic in the macroenvironment. Using cluster random sampling strategy eight rocks, 23 soils, 12 drinking water resources, 36 human urine and hair samples and 15 adult sheep urine and wool samples in several large-scale herds in the area were randomly taken for quantification of arsenic in rock/soil/water, wool/hair/urine. Arsenic levels in rock/soil/water and wool/hair/urine were measured using inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrophotometry, respectively. While arsenic levels in rocks, soils and water resources hazardously ranged 9.40–25,873.3 mg kg−1, 7.10–1448.80 mg kg−1 and 12–606 μg L−1, respectively, arsenic concentrations in humans’ hair and urine and sheep’s wool and urine varied from 0.37–1.37 μg g−1 and 9–271.4 μg L−1 and 0.3–3.11 μg g−1 and 29.1–1015 μg L−1, respectively. Local sheep and human were widely sick and slightly anemic. Hematological examination of the inhabitants revealed that geogenic arsenic could harm blood cells, potentially resulting in many other hematoimmunological disorders including cancer. The findings warn widespread exposure of animals and human in this agroecologically and geopolitically important region (i.e., its proximity with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkmenistan) and give a clue on how arsenic could induce infectious and non-infectious diseases in highly exposed human/animals.

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Acknowledgments

This study has been supported by Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The authors wish to thank Prof. Dr. Daniel Holm and Ms. Yasaman Rafihgdoust for the water samples analysis in Kent State University, Geology Department. The study was from two MSc thesis, first (M.T.) and sixth (Sh. H) authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Masumeh Taheri, Mohamad Hosein Mahmudy Gharaie & Shakiba Hami

  2. Department of Pathobiology, Sections Immunology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Biotechnology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Jalil Mehrzad

  3. Medical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

    Reza Afshari

  4. Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran, Iran

    Ahmad Dadsetan

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  1. Masumeh Taheri
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Correspondence to Jalil Mehrzad.

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Taheri, M., Mehrzad, J., Mahmudy Gharaie, M.H. et al. High soil and groundwater arsenic levels induce high body arsenic loads, health risk and potential anemia for inhabitants of northeastern Iran. Environ Geochem Health 38, 469–482 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9733-9

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