In Iraq, war contamination is the result of dispensed bombs, bullets, detonation of chemical and conventional weapons, and burn-pit emissions by US bases. Increases in congenital anomalies were reported from Iraqi cities post-2003. These cities were heavily bombed and encircled by US bases with burn-pits. Thorium is a radioactive compound and a direct depleted-uranium decay-product. Radioactive materials, including depleted uranium, are routinely stored in US bases and they have been shown to leak into the environment. We conducted a case-control study to investigate associations of residential proximity to Tallil Air Base, a US military base near Nasiriyah, as well as levels of uranium and thorium in hair and deciduous teeth with congenital anomalies. The study was based on a sample of 19 cases and 10 controls who were recruited during late Summer and early Fall of 2016. We developed mixed effects logistic regression models with village as the random effect, congenital anomaly as the outcome and distance to the US base and hair metal levels (one at a time) as the predictor variable, controlling for child's age, sex and paternal education. We also explored the mediation of the association between proximity to the base and congenital anomalies by hair metal levels. We found an inverse association between distance to Tallil Air Base and risk of congenital anomalies and hair levels of thorium and uranium. The results of our mediation analyses were less conclusive. Larger studies are necessary to understand the scope of war contamination and its impact on congenital anomalies in Iraq.

One of the most important reasons for the controversy over the development of nuclear energy is the proper disposal of spent fuel. Separation of actinide and lanthanide ions is an important part of safe long-term storage of radioactive waste. Herein, a three-dimensional (3D) graphene-based macrostructure (GOCS) was utilized to remove actinide thorium and lanthanide europium ions from aqueous solutions. The adsorption of Eu(III) and Th(IV) on the GOCS was evaluated as a function of adsorption time, solution pH, initial ion concentrations, and ionic strength. The experimentally determined maximum adsorption capacities of this GOCS for Eu(III) (pH 6.0) and Th(IV) (pH 3.0) are as high as 150 and 220 mg/g, respectively. By using Fourier transformation infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron (XPS), and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy, we concluded that the Eu(III) and Th(IV) adsorption was predominantly attributed to the inner-sphere coordination with various oxygen- and nitrogen-containing functional groups on GOCS surfaces. Our selective adsorption results demonstrate that the actinide and lanthanide ions can be effectively separated from transition metal ions. This study provides new clues to the overall recycling of actinide and lanthanide ions in radioactive environmental pollution treatments.

Following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event in 2010, hydrocarbons were deposited on the continental slope in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico through marine oil snow sedimentation and flocculent accumulation (MOSSFA). The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that benthic foraminiferal δ13C would record this depositional event. From December 2010 to August 2014, a time-series of sediment cores was collected at two impacted sites and one control site in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Short-lived radioisotopes (210Pb and 234Th) were employed to establish the pre-DWH, DWH, and post-DWH intervals. Benthic foraminifera (Cibicidoides spp. and Uvigerina spp.) were isolated from these intervals for δ13C measurement. A modest (0.2–0.4‰), but persistent δ13C depletion in the DWH intervals of impacted sites was observed over a two-year period. This difference was significantly beyond the pre-DWH (background) variability and demonstrated that benthic foraminiferal calcite recorded the depositional event. The longevity of the depletion in the δ13C record suggested that benthic foraminifera may have recorded the change in organic matter caused by MOSSFA from 2010 to 2012. These findings have implications for assessing the subsurface spatial distribution of the DWH MOSSFA event.

Both occupational and environmental exposure to asbestos-mineral fibres can be associated with lung diseases. The pathogenic effects are related to the dimension, biopersistence and chemical composition of the fibres. In addition to the major mineral elements, mineral fibres contain trace elements and their content may play a role in fibre toxicity. To shed light on the role of trace elements in asbestos carcinogenesis, knowledge on their concentration in asbestos-mineral fibres is mandatory. It is possible that trace elements play a synergetic factor in the pathogenesis of diseases caused by the inhalation of mineral fibres. In this paper, the concentration levels of trace elements from three chrysotile samples, four amphibole asbestos samples (UICC amosite, UICC anthophyllite, UICC crocidolite and tremolite) and fibrous erionite from Jersey, Nevada (USA) were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). For all samples, the following trace elements were measured: Li, Be, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Pb, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Th, U. Their distribution in the various mineral species is thoroughly discussed.The obtained results indicate that the amount of trace metals such as Mn, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn is higher in anthophyllite and chrysotile samples, whereas the amount of rare earth elements (REE) is higher in erionite and tremolite samples. The results of this work can be useful to the pathologists and biochemists who use asbestos minerals and fibrous erionite in-vitro studies as positive cyto- and geno-toxic standard references.

Organic complexing agents, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) and picolinic acid, have been widely used at nuclear sites and are therefore found as common co-contaminants in radioactive contaminated land. This study has explored the mechanisms by which these three complexing agents affect the sorption of Th(IV) to pure silica and a natural sand. EDTA, NTA and, to a lesser extent, picolinic acid decreased the sorption of Th to silica, demonstrating the formation and solubility of Th complexes. However, Th sorption to sand was kinetically controlled and complexation enhanced the rate of Th sorption. EDTA and NTA did not sorb significantly to the sand, and metal desorption indicated that the mechanism involved exchange with sand-associated metals. At equilibrium, however, Th sorption was not affected by the presence of the ligands, and modelling suggested that the interaction between Th and the surface binding sites controlled Th sorption thermodynamically.

Most studies of metals exposure focus on the heavy metals. There are many other metals (the transition, alkali and alkaline earth metals in particular) in common use in electronics, defense industries, emitted via combustion and which are naturally present in the environment, that have received limited attention in terms of human exposure. We analysed samples of whole blood (172), urine (173) and drinking water (172) for antimony, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, gallium, rubidium, silver, strontium, thallium, thorium and vanadium using ICPMS. In general most metals concentrations were low and below the analytical limit of detection with some high concentrations observed. Few factors examined in regression models were shown to influence biological metals concentrations and explained little of the variation. Further study is required to establish the source of metals exposures at the high end of the ranges of concentrations measured and the potential for any adverse health impacts in children.

Radioactive pollution comes on the top of pollution types that affect human life directly through damaging the human genome or indirectly via his food web. The current study focused on the evaluation of radiation effects of Assiut Thermal Power Plant (ATPP) ashes on two crop plants, potato and squash, in terms of morphological and molecular levels. More particularly, the specific activity concentrations were measured in Bq/kg, of the ²³⁸U (²²⁶Ra) and ²³²Th series, and ⁴⁰K-isotope for the untreated soil sample (control) and ATPP ash sample (represents the radioactive source with 100% concentration). Different concentrations of ATPP ash (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8%) were mixed with soil sample to study the effect of radioactively contaminated soil on potato and squash plants. The results of the present investigation revealed that the morphological characteristics of both potato and squash plants were changed, which reflected a steep regression in the values of all vegetative growth and yield traits. The alterations of the characteristic values were directly proportional to the radioactive ash concentration in the soil. In the same context, the molecular evaluation using PCR-based markers, e.g., ISSR and SCoT helps in understanding and explaining experimental observations at morphological level. ISSR/SCoT bands confirmed the toxicity and mutagenicity of radioactive ash samples at their present dose on both potato and squash plants. The present findings clearly explained the morphometric and genetic abnormalities in two of the main consumed crops by a human. Thus, the green area around the ATPP may disappear in the future due to increasing the pollution in terms of the radioactive component that directly attached to plants or indirectly by mixing with soil.

The specific activities of natural (²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th) and artificial (¹³⁷Cs, ²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu, and ²⁴¹Am) radionuclides in the sediments of two North Caucasus lakes were determined. The two lakes, Lake Khuko and Lake Donguz-Orun, differ in their sedimentation conditions. Based on the use of unsupported ²¹⁰Pbₑₓ and both Chernobyl-derived and bomb-derived ¹³⁷Cs as chronological markers, it was established that the sedimentation rates in Lake Khuko over the past 55–60 y did not exceed 0.017 cm y⁻¹. Sedimentation rates in Lake Donguz-Orun were found to be more than an order of magnitude higher. In the latter case, the sedimentation rates for the period from 1986 to the present were over 1.5 times higher than they were for the period 1963–1986. The differences in sedimentation rates were due to differences in the rates of denudation of their respective catchment areas. The specific activities of artificial radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs, 2600 Bq kg⁻¹; ²³⁹,²⁴⁰Pu, 162 Bq kg⁻¹; and ²⁴¹Am, 36 Bq kg⁻¹) and their ratios in the sediments of Lake Khuko show that their deposition was mainly due to global stratospheric fallout of technogenic radionuclides associated with nuclear bomb testing during 1954–1963—rather than fallout from the Chernobyl accident. Several factors, including the mode of precipitation, features of the surface runoff, and location of Lake Khuko, were responsible for the accumulation of artificial radionuclides.