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Kato M, Azimi MD, Fayaz SH, Shah MD, Hoque MZ, Hamajima N, Ohnuma S, Ohtsuka T, Maeda M, Yoshinaga M. Uranium in well drinking water of Kabul, Afghanistan and its effective, low-cost depuration using Mg-Fe based hydrotalcite-like compounds. Chemosphere 2016; 165:27-32. [PMID: 27619645 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.08.124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2016] [Revised: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Toxic elements in drinking water have great effects on human health. However, there is very limited information about toxic elements in drinking water in Afghanistan. In this study, levels of 10 elements (chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, antimony, barium, mercury, lead and uranium) in 227 well drinking water samples in Kabul, Afghanistan were examined for the first time. Chromium (in 0.9% of the 227 samples), arsenic (7.0%) and uranium (19.4%) exceeded the values in WHO health-based guidelines for drinking-water quality. Maximum chromium, arsenic and uranium levels in the water samples were 1.3-, 10.4- and 17.2-fold higher than the values in the guidelines, respectively. We next focused on uranium, which is the most seriously polluted element among the 10 elements. Mean ± SD (138.0 ± 1.4) of the 238U/235U isotopic ratio in the water samples was in the range of previously reported ratios for natural source uranium. We then examined the effect of our originally developed magnesium (Mg)-iron (Fe)-based hydrotalcite-like compounds (MF-HT) on adsorption for uranium. All of the uranium-polluted well water samples from Kabul (mean ± SD = 190.4 ± 113.9 μg/L; n = 11) could be remediated up to 1.2 ± 1.7 μg/L by 1% weight of our MF-HT within 60 s at very low cost (<0.001 cents/day/family) in theory. Thus, we demonstrated not only elevated levels of some toxic elements including natural source uranium but also an effective depurative for uranium in well drinking water from Kabul. Since our depurative is effective for remediation of arsenic as shown in our previous studies, its practical use in Kabul may be encouraged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masashi Kato
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan; Units of Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life and Health Sciences, Chubu University, Kasugai, Aichi 487-8501, Japan; Voluntary Body for International Healthcare in Universities, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan.
| | - Mohammad Daud Azimi
- General Directorate of Policy, Planning and International Relations, Ministry of Public Health, Kabul, Afghanistan
| | - Said Hafizullah Fayaz
- Administrative Office of the President, Deputy Public Relations and Outreach, Kabul, Afghanistan
| | - Muhammad Dawood Shah
- Department of Pathobiology and Medical Diagnostics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Md Zahirul Hoque
- Department of Pathobiology and Medical Diagnostics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Nobuyuki Hamajima
- Department of Healthcare Administration, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
| | - Shoko Ohnuma
- Voluntary Body for International Healthcare in Universities, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
| | - Tomomi Ohtsuka
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan; Voluntary Body for International Healthcare in Universities, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
| | - Masao Maeda
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan; Voluntary Body for International Healthcare in Universities, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
| | - Masafumi Yoshinaga
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan; Voluntary Body for International Healthcare in Universities, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan
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Kumasaka MY, Yamanoshita O, Shimizu S, Ohnuma S, Furuta A, Yajima I, Nizam S, Khalequzzaman M, Shekhar HU, Nakajima T, Kato M. Enhanced carcinogenicity by coexposure to arsenic and iron and a novel remediation system for the elements in well drinking water. Arch Toxicol 2012; 87:439-47. [DOI: 10.1007/s00204-012-0964-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2012] [Accepted: 10/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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