Exposure of the French population to metals in urine. National Biomonitoring Program. Esteban 2014–2016.

Urinary levels of 27 metal elements were measured as part of the Esteban study. Following consultation with the scientific advisory board, it was decided to conduct a descriptive analysis and identify risk factors for certain metals of particular concern in terms of health risks or exposure for the French population: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, and nickel. Reports describing the results of these analyses are available at www.santepubliquefrance.fr. The purpose of this document is to present the descriptive results of the levels of accumulation of the metals listed below observed in adults and children: aluminum, antimony, barium, beryllium, boron, cesium, cobalt, tin, iridium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, gold, palladium, platinum, selenium, thallium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zinc. In adults, for nearly all metals, the quantification rates were above 97%, except for beryllium (4.2%), iridium (42%), and platinum (62.3%). In children, the quantification percentages for most metals were also above 90%, except for beryllium (10.9%), iridium (51.8%), and platinum (88.1%). The Esteban study provided the first description of urinary exposure to a number of metals in adults: aluminum, barium, beryllium, boron, cesium, iridium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, gold, palladium, platinum, selenium, thallium, tungsten, and zinc, as well as antimony, cobalt, tin, uranium, and vanadium in children living in metropolitan France in 2014–2016. For the most part, these data provide an initial description of urinary concentrations in the French population, which will be useful for assessing trends over time in future biomonitoring surveys.

Author(s): Fillol Clémence, Oleko Amivi, Gane Jessica, Saoudi Abdessattar, Zeghnoun Abdelkrim

Publishing year: 2021

Pages: 52 p.

Collection: Studies and Surveys

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