论文部分内容阅读
Road traffic can be an important source for human exposure to some metals.In previous studies regarding PM components,Sb and Cu presence in mineral fraction has been associated mainly to road traffic.Metals occur in the very fine and ultrafine particles,so they can reach pulmonary alveoli.Consequently,an important exposure to these metals occurs in people living in places with intense traffic.Cu is an essential element but also toxic at high levels,whereas Sb is a toxic metal with demonstrated harmful health effects due to occupational exposure.Exposure to air pollution during pregnancy has been studied regarding PM,NO2 and benzene,but no studies attending to human exposure to metals and its association with traffic pollution have been performed.In this context,Sb and Cu were analysed in urine from pregnant women living in Sabadell.Then,association between concentrations and exposure at home to road traffic was studied,taking into account different variables related to exposure to road traffic such as personal perception of road traffic at the street where they live or distance to an intense traffic street.Concentrations of both metals were approximately on the same range than those reported in previous studies from places without an important source of pollution.Attending to multivariate linear regression,personal perception of car density traffic at home was significantly associated with Sb but not with Cu.Finally,both metals presented higher levels during winter,consistent with previous findings in studies regarding PM.As a conclusion,women exposed to higher car traffic density at home exhibit higher levels of Sb during pregnancy.Association with Cu was not clear.Sb from car brake wear has been recognized as the most important source for atmospheric presence of this metal and,according to these results,it can be confirmed as the main factor associated with human non-occupational exposure,while Cu may come from other sources such as diet.The low dispersion conditions occurring during winter lead to higher exposure to these metals due to resuspension of particles containing them.During pregnancy these metals pass through the placenta and prenatal exposure may have important effects on the newborn child,therefore metals coming from car traffic at home could have a negative influence on childrens health and development.