Environmental Exposure to Metals and Metalloids in Primary School-Aged Children Living in Industrialised Areas of Eastern South Asian Megacity Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract

Chemical pollution arising from heavy metals and metalloids is a growing global concern and a major cause of pollution-related diseases in the world today, especially in low- and middle-income countries. The present study investigated the urinary concentrations of metals and metalloids in primary school-aged children (N = 142), living in three different industrialised areas, namely the textile, tannery, and multiple industries dominated areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh and compared with a control area. The accurate measurement of urinary concentrations of twenty-two elements was accomplished using a simple and robust ICP-MS method; hydration variations were adjusted by osmolality. Results revealed that children living in these industrialised areas were exposed to a greater extent the environmental pollutants arsenic, chromium, iron, selenium, molybdenum, tin, caesium, thallium, and lead when compared to control children, after adjusting of confounding factors such as age, sex, and nutritional status. The higher concentrations of manganese in urine (3.81 µg/L, p < 0.0001) and in drinking water samples (131.0 µg/L, p < 0.05) of the textile area, suggest an elevated risk of adverse health effects for the exposed children noting that about 70% of the drinking water samples exceeded the national recommended limit. In addition, the concentration of copper was positively correlated between drinking water and urine samples which may potentially indicate the source of exposure. This study represents the prevailing situation of metals and metalloid pollution in industrialised areas where children may be at a higher risk of heavy metal-induced health problems.