Bone uranium and lead concentrations in adults from Fallujah, Iraq

Abstract

Military activities may result in substantial exposure to heavy metals. Fallujah, Iraq has been the site of decades of war, and Iraq was one of the last nations to eliminate lead from gasoline. Therefore, the goal for this analysis was to assess bone lead and uranium concentration in Fallujah adults. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time in vivo bone uranium has been reported. A portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) device was used to measure bone lead and uranium in 68 adults (36 families). Generalized estimating equations determined associations with demographic characteristics. Mean bone concentrations were 21.2 μg/g bone mineral (95 % confidence interval (CI) 18.5, 23.9) for lead and 1.4 μg/g bone mineral (95 % CI: 1.2, 1.7) for uranium. Bone lead and bone uranium were not significantly correlated. Younger participants had significantly higher bone lead and uranium; females had significantly higher bone uranium compared to males. Estimated soil lead and uranium were available for 22 participants. Soil metal concentrations were not correlated with bone metal concentrations. Average bone metal concentrations in this population were >300 % higher than reported from prior studies using in vivo (lead) or bone ash (uranium) bone metal concentrations from North American adults. There is no known biological function for lead or uranium in the human body. These results suggest Fallujah adults have experienced very high, long-term exposure to multiple heavy metals.