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Environ Monit Assess 2021 Jun 11;193(7):412. Epub 2021 Jun 11.

Institute for Development Studies, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Enugu, Nigeria.

Arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), beryllium (Be), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), and thallium (Tl) are reportedly notorious toxic contents of make-ups, with potential to cause cancer and chronic kidney disease, warranting investigation on their toxic effects. One hundred female university students were randomly selected as consistent users of make-ups for upward of 3 years. The serum/urine levels of the 8 elements were regressed against the kidney functions (estimated glomerular rate, eGFR) of the subjects. Read More

Nutrients 2021 May 31;13(6). Epub 2021 May 31.

Department of Neonatology, University Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, 15704 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

This study aims to quantify concentrations of minerals and trace elements in human milk (HM) and infant formula (IF) and evaluate associations with medical, social, environmental, and demographic variables. A prospective, case series study of 170 nursing mothers was made. HM samples were obtained from full-term (colostrum, intermediate and mature HM) and preterm (mature HM) mothers. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 May 6;18(9). Epub 2021 May 6.

Unit of Training and Research in Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi 07610, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Blood and/or urine levels of 27 heavy metals were determined by ICPMS in 41 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and 29 presumably healthy subjects from the Katanga Copperbelt (KC), in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After adjusting for age, gender, education level, and renal function, DCM probability was almost maximal for blood concentrations above 0.75 and 150 µg/dL for arsenic and copper, respectively. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 May 22. Epub 2021 May 22.

Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, China.

Although thallium (Tl) usually exists in a very low level in the natural environment, it is highly toxic. With the development of mining and metallurgical industry and the wide application of Tl in the field of high technologies, Tl poses an increasing threat to the ecological environment and human health. This paper summarizes the research results of the toxicity of Tl as well as the distribution, occurrence forms, migration, and transformation mechanism of Tl in rivers, lakes, mining areas, estuaries, coastal waters, and oceans. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 04 12;18(8). Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Prevention, Health Agency of North-West Tuscany, 56124 Pisa, Italy.

In 2014-2015, concentrations of thallium above the recommended reference value (EPA: 2 µg/L) were measured in some parts of the drinking water distribution system in the municipality of Pietrasanta (Tuscany, Italy). An extensive campaign of water samples and human biomonitoring surveys were implemented to quantify the exposure of population. A residential cohort epidemiological study was carried out on the population of the municipality of Pietrasanta, aimed at comparing the health status of residents in the areas affected by thallium contamination with residents living in the rest of the municipality. Read More

Environ Geochem Health 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Linköping University - Guangzhou University Research Center on Urban Sustainable Development, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.

Metal contamination from base metal sulphide mines is a major environmental challenge that poses many ecological and health risks. We examined the metal concentrations in the Dabaoshan mine in South China in water, sediments, and aquatic organisms and their specific characteristics (i.e. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Mar 30. Epub 2021 Mar 30.

Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Chemistry Department, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, via Bologna 148, 10154, Turin, Italy.

Microplastics are contaminants of great concern all over the world. Microplastics constitute pollutants themselves; moreover, other contaminants such as metals are easily absorbed on their plastic surface, becoming bioavailable to marine biota such as zooplankton.We collected marine zooplankton from Mediterranean Sea to investigate trace elements associated with microplastics. Read More

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 2021 Feb 4. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

College of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China.

In this paper, the releasing characteristics and biological toxicity of Tl, Hg, As and Sb in waste of Lanmuchang mercury-thallium mine were studied. The results indicated that strong acidity can significantly promote the release of Tl from waste. With the increase of pH, the release of Sb grew steadily, while Hg and As showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. Read More

Biol Trace Elem Res 2021 Jan 20. Epub 2021 Jan 20.

Medical Toxicology and Drug Abuse Research Center (MTDRC), Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.

Smoking is one of the major causes of mortality and numerous diseases, both directly and indirectly. The role of smoking as a significant risk factor is already known in several human diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We aimed to compare the toxicity of heavy metal levels in the two groups of cigarette smokers and non-smokers in Birjand during 2018. Read More

Brain Behav 2021 Mar 13;11(3):e02032. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

Department of Neurology, Maoming People's Hospital, Maoming, China.

Introduction: Thallium poisoning is a rare occurrence. Therefore, thallium poisoning is easily misdiagnosed and is often accompanied by a series of serious sequelae and can even result in death in severe cases. Here, we report long-term follow-up of a case of a patient who was poisoned with thallium on two separate occasions. Read More

EFSA J 2020 Nov 26;18(Suppl 1):e181101. Epub 2020 Nov 26.

In the last decades, there is an increasing inclusion of various trace metals and metalloids such as thallium, tellurium and rare earth elements (REEs; lanthanides, scandium, and yttrium) in the composition and production of alloys, in agricultural and medicinal applications, as well as in the manufacturing of hi-tech products. All these activities have led to an accumulation of the aforementioned elements both in soil and water bodies and consequently in the food chain, through discharges from mining and mineral processing, liquid industrial waste or disposal of urban and industrial products. It has been demonstrated that chronic exposure to some of these elements, even at low doses, might lead to a wide range of adverse health effects, even from the early stages of life, such as neurotoxicity, neurodevelopmental toxicity and hepatic alterations. Read More

Environ Int 2021 01 1;146:106289. Epub 2020 Dec 1.

State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, School of Public Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China; Key Laboratory of Modern Toxicology of the Ministry of Education, Center for Global Health, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. Electronic address:

Background: To date, few studies have explored the effects of exposure to metal mixtures on adverse developmental outcomes, and no reported studies have linked metal exposure to craniosynostosis (CS). The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between metal exposure and the risk of CS by conducting epidemiological and experimental studies.

Methods: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure the concentrations of 6 metals (chromium [Cr], nickel [Ni], tin [Sn], arsenic [As], thallium [Tl], and lead [Pb]) in serum samples from 174 CS patients and 85 control individuals. Read More

Chemosphere 2021 Feb 19;265:129025. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China; Key Laboratory of Environment and Health, Ministry of Education & Ministry of Environmental Protection, and State Key Laboratory of Environmental Health (Incubation), School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Electronic address:

Background: Thallium is a widely known toxic heavy metal that has been reported have embryo toxicity.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship of prenatal thallium exposure with neonatal telomere length.

Methods: A total of 746 mother-newborn pairs were recruited from Wuhan Children Hospital between November 2013 and March 2015 in Wuhan City, China. Read More

Mutat Res 2020 Oct - Dec;858-860:503235. Epub 2020 Sep 7.

Laboratoire de Toxicologie Génétique, Institut Pasteur de Lille, 1 rue du Pr. Calmette, 59019 Lille Cedex, France; Université de Lille, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, EA4483-IMPECS, France. Electronic address:

Ferric hexacyanoferrate(II) (Fe[Fe(CN)]), i.e. Prussian blue (PB) has been used for many years to remove from the body the two toxic isotopes of cesium and thallium following irradiation. Read More

Environ Pollut 2021 Jan 6;268(Pt B):115776. Epub 2020 Oct 6.

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Faculty of Science and Technology and Athabasca River Basin Research Institute, Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta, Canada.

There is limited information regarding the toxicity of the trace element thallium (Tl) to aquatic biota, most of which assesses acute toxicity and bioaccumulation. The relative lack of chronic Tl toxicity data compromises the establishment of water quality criteria for this trace metal. In the presented work, chronic toxicity endpoints (final body weight (a proxy measure of growth), survival, and reproduction) and Tl body burden were measured in the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna during a 21-day exposure to dissolved Tl. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 09 4;10(1):14640. Epub 2020 Sep 4.

Center for Molecular and Clinical Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases, University of Michigan School of Public Health, 1415 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA.

Salivary microbiome composition can change following exposure to environmental toxicants, e.g., heavy metals. Read More

Environ Res 2020 09 22;188:109560. Epub 2020 Apr 22.

Toxicology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran. Electronic address:

In this study the possible health effects of consumption of benthopelagic (Johnius Belangerii (C); JB) and demersal (Cynoglossus Arel; CA) fishes were evaluated. These fish species living in the Musa estuary (the biggest estuary in the south of Iran and in the northern coastline of Persian Gulf) are likely to be polluted with Hg, V, Ni and Tl. The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to estimate fish intakes in the residents of Mahshahr city. Read More

Environ Res 2020 11 1;190:110002. Epub 2020 Aug 1.

VITO Health, Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO), Mol, Belgium. Electronic address:

Background: The Flemish Environment and Health Studies (FLEHS) are human biomonitoring surveys running in Flanders since 1999. Additionally to biomarkers of exposure, markers of genotoxicity and oxidative stress have been measured, including the alkaline comet and micronucleus assay in peripheral whole blood cells, and urinary concentrations of 8-oxo-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-oxodG).

Aim: Exposure-effect associations were explored in a pooled dataset of nine different cross-sectional FLEHS surveys. Read More

Environ Pollut 2020 Nov 16;266(Pt 3):115252. Epub 2020 Jul 16.

Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Soil and Groundwater Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China.

Thallium (Tl) is a dispersed trace metal showing remarkable toxicity. Various anthropogenic activities may generate Tl contamination in river sediments, posing tremendous risks to aquatic life and human health. This paper aimed to provide insight into the vertical distribution, risk assessment and source tracing of Tl and other potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (lead, cadmium, zinc and copper) in three representative sediment cores from a riverine catchment impacted by multiple anthropogenic activities (such as steel-making and Pb-Zn smelting). Read More

Med Pr 2020 Jul 29;71(4):405-411. Epub 2020 May 29.

Poznan University of Technology, Poznań, Poland (Institute of Chemistry and Technical Electrochemistry).

Background: Allergic reactions to metals and metal salts used in tattoo pigments occur surprisingly frequently. For this reason, this study focused on the determination of thallium (Tl) in the samples of color tattoo inks. These inks are commonly used in tattooing processes worldwide. Read More

Chemosphere 2020 Nov 18;259:127258. Epub 2020 Jun 18.

School of Life Science, Key Laboratory for Functional Study on Plant Stress-Resistant Genes, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.

This is the first study to investigate the reduction mechanism of Tl (III) to Tl(I) in the presence of plants, especially rice. Smaller plant density could effectively reduce the content of organic acids in the hydroponic system to keep the stability of Tl(III). As the plant density was reduced from 40 seedlings to 10 seedlings in 100 mL Tl(III) solution, the content of oxalate was declined to one-third of the original, and the ratio of Tl(III)/total Tl was increased from 39. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 Oct 5;739:139957. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Institute of Environmental Research at Greater Bay, Key Laboratory of Water Quality and Conservation in the Pearl River Delta, Ministry of Education, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radionuclides Pollution Control and Resources, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.

Thallium (Tl) is a trace element with extreme toxicity. Widespread Tl pollution in riverine systems, mainly due to escalating mining and smelting activities of Tl-bearing sulfide minerals, has attracted increasing attention. Insights into the function of the microbial communities with advanced characterization tools are critical for understanding the biogeochemical cycle of Tl. Read More

Neurotox Res 2020 Aug 28;38(2):287-298. Epub 2020 May 28.

Laboratorio de Aminoácidos Excitadores, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Insurgentes Sur 3877, 14269, Mexico City, Mexico.

Monovalent thallium (Tl) is a cation that can exert complex neurotoxic patterns in the brain by mechanisms that have yet to be completely characterized. To learn more about Tl toxicity, it is necessary to investigate its major effects in vivo and its ability to trigger specific signaling pathways (such as the antioxidant SKN-1 pathway) in different biological models. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 05 21;10(1):8434. Epub 2020 May 21.

Center for Biotechnology Research and Development (Malaria laboratory) - Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), PO Box 548840-00200, Nairobi, Kenya.

Levels of Mercury (Hg), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni) & Thallium (Tl) were established in wastewater & soil samples obtained from 8 sites in open drainage channels at Nairobi industrial area, Kenya. Ultra-trace inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS) was used for metal analysis. Temperature, pH & turbidity of wastewater ranged from 16. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2020 May 19;718:137424. Epub 2020 Feb 19.

Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014 Turku, Finland.

Sulphate soils, characterised by low pH conditions, are found worldwide, and are potentially large sources of metal contamination, often exceeding industrial emissions. Metal leaching from sulphate soils has been shown to be harmful to aquatic organisms, but the cascading effect on exposure in apex avian predators has not been studied earlier. With the present study we aimed at evaluating the potential of white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) nestlings, collected from nests located either in sulphate soil or control areas, for monitoring spatial contaminant trends of metals typically associated with sulphate soils. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2020 Jul 15;27(19):23686-23694. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Shale Gas Resource Exploitation, Xiangtan, 411201, China.

Thallium (Tl) has a high relative toxicity and is easily taken up by plants, but little is known about wider relationship with co-contaminants and in typical domestic food crops. We evaluated the extent of contamination, evidence for bioaccumulation in typical food crops (Chinese cabbage, green cabbage, chili, carrot, corn and rice), and subsequent contribution to health risks for 7 elements (Tl, As, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Zn) associated with soil contamination in the local soils of a major Tl mine in Guizhou, southwest China. Derivation of relevant risk indicators from the bioconcentration factor (BCF), comprehensive crop pollution index (P), the target hazard quotient (THQ) (element), and the hazard index (HI) (all elements) were assessed as tools to support the evaluation. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2020 Mar;54(3):332-336

Department of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, School of Public Health/MOE Key Laboratory of Population Health Across Life Cycle/NHC Key Laboratory of Study on Abnormal Gametes and Reproductive Tract/Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health and Aristogenics, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.

Thallium is a highly toxic heavy metal. The adverse maternal and infant health effects caused by thallium exposure during pregnancy have also attracted more and more scholars' attention. This study focused on the sources of thallium exposure and its influencing factors, the association between thallium exposure during pregnancy and pregnancy complications and adverse birth outcomes in newborns, the effects of thallium exposure during pregnancy on children's growth and development after birth. Read More

J Hazard Mater 2020 07 22;393:122378. Epub 2020 Feb 22.

School of Metallurgical Engineering, Anhui University of Technology, Ma'anshan, 243032, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Advanced Special Steel, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, PR China. Electronic address:

Thallium is an emerging pollutant reported in wastewater along with the increasing mining and smelting of thallium-containing ores in recent years. The complete removal of Tl(I) from wastewater is of significant emergency due to its high toxicity and mobility, however, Tl(I) removal is always confronted with numerous technical difficulties because of the extremely low Tl(I) concentration in wastewater and the disturbances of many accompanying impurity ions. Adsorption is currently the most widely used method for Tl(I) removal on industrial scale and varied kinds of adsorbents such as Prussian blue analogues, biosorbents, and metal oxides have been developed. Read More