IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i14p2569-d249504.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Metal(loid)s in Cucurbita pepo in a Uranium Mining Impacted Area in Northwestern New Mexico, USA

Author

Listed:
  • Christine Samuel-Nakamura

    (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 4-246 Factor Bldg., Mailcode 691821, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA)

  • Felicia S. Hodge

    (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 5-940 Factor Bldg., Mailcode 691921, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA)

  • Sophie Sokolow

    (School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 5-238 Factor Bldg., Mailcode 691921, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA)

  • Abdul-Mehdi S. Ali

    (Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Northrop Hall MSCO 3-2040 Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA)

  • Wendie A. Robbins

    (Center for Occupational and Environmental Health Fielding School of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 5-254 Factor Bldg., Mailcode 956919, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA)

Abstract

More than 500 unreclaimed mines and associated waste sites exist on the Navajo Nation reservation as a result of uranium (U) mining from the 1940s through the 1980s. For this study, the impact of U-mine waste on a common, locally grown crop food was examined. The goal of this site-specific study was to determine metal(loid) concentration levels of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cesium (Cs), molybdenum (Mo), lead (Pb), thorium (Th), U, vanadium (V) and selenium (Se) in Cucurbita pepo Linnaeus (squash), irrigation water, and soil using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The concentrations of metal(loid)s were greatest in roots > leaves > edible fruit ( p < 0.05), respectively. There were significant differences between metal(loid)s in squash crop plot usage (<5 years versus >30 years) for V ( p = 0.001), As ( p < 0.001), U ( p = 0.002), Cs ( p = 0.012), Th ( p = 0.040), Mo ( p = 0.047), and Cd ( p = 0.042). Lead and Cd crop irrigation water concentrations exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Maximum Contaminant Levels for drinking water for those metals. Edible squash concentration levels were 0.116 mg/kg of As, 0.248 mg/kg of Pb, 0.020 mg/kg of Cd, and 0.006 mg/kg of U. Calculated human ingestion of edible squash did not exceed Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake or Tolerable Upper Limit levels from intake based solely on squash consumption. There does not appear to be a food-ingestion risk from metal(loid)s solely from consumption of squash. Safer access and emphasis on consuming regulated water was highlighted. Food intake recommendations were provided. Continued monitoring, surveillance, and further research are recommended.

Suggested Citation

  • Christine Samuel-Nakamura & Felicia S. Hodge & Sophie Sokolow & Abdul-Mehdi S. Ali & Wendie A. Robbins, 2019. "Metal(loid)s in Cucurbita pepo in a Uranium Mining Impacted Area in Northwestern New Mexico, USA," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:14:p:2569-:d:249504
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/14/2569/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/14/2569/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Christine Samuel-Nakamura & Wendie A. Robbins & Felicia S. Hodge, 2017. "Uranium and Associated Heavy Metals in Ovis aries in a Mining Impacted Area in Northwestern New Mexico," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Lauren Hund & Edward J. Bedrick & Curtis Miller & Gabriel Huerta & Teddy Nez & Sandy Ramone & Chris Shuey & Miranda Cajero & Johnnye Lewis, 2015. "A Bayesian framework for estimating disease risk due to exposure to uranium mine and mill waste on the Navajo Nation," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 178(4), pages 1069-1091, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jonathan Credo & Jaclyn Torkelson & Tommy Rock & Jani C. Ingram, 2019. "Quantification of Elemental Contaminants in Unregulated Water across Western Navajo Nation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-15, July.
    2. Tommy Rock & Ricky Camplain & Nicolette I. Teufel-Shone & Jani C. Ingram, 2019. "Traditional Sheep Consumption by Navajo People in Cameron, Arizona," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-13, October.
    3. Christine Samuel-Nakamura & Wendie A. Robbins & Felicia S. Hodge, 2017. "Uranium and Associated Heavy Metals in Ovis aries in a Mining Impacted Area in Northwestern New Mexico," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Sara S. Nozadi & Li Li & Li Luo & Debra MacKenzie & Esther Erdei & Ruofei Du & Carolyn W. Roman & Joseph Hoover & Elena O’Donald & Courtney Burnette & Johnnye Lewis, 2021. "Prenatal Metal Exposures and Infants’ Developmental Outcomes in a Navajo Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-24, December.
    5. Caubet, Miguel & Samoilenko, Mariia & Drouin, Simon & Sinnett, Daniel & Krajinovic, Maja & Laverdière, Caroline & Marcil, Valérie & Lefebvre, Geneviève, 2023. "Bayesian joint modeling for causal mediation analysis with a binary outcome and a binary mediator: Exploring the role of obesity in the association between cranial radiation therapy for childhood acut," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    6. Christine Samuel-Nakamura, 2020. "Using Traditional Methods for Collaborative Fieldwork in a Uranium Food Chain Study on Diné Lands in the US Southwest," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-12, August.
    7. Tommy Rock & Lindsey Jones & Jani C. Ingram, 2021. "Approaches for Disseminating Environmental Research Findings to Navajo Communities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-8, June.
    8. Dagmara Strumińska-Parulska & Jerzy Falandysz, 2020. "A Review of the Occurrence of Alpha-Emitting Radionuclides in Wild Mushrooms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-20, November.
    9. Madeleine K. Scammell & Caryn Sennett & Rebecca L. Laws & Robert L. Rubin & Daniel R. Brooks & Juan José Amador & Damaris López-Pilarte & Oriana Ramirez-Rubio & David J. Friedman & Michael D. McClean , 2020. "Urinary Metals Concentrations and Biomarkers of Autoimmunity among Navajo and Nicaraguan Men," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-17, July.
    10. Nicole Thompson González & Jennifer Ong & Li Luo & Debra MacKenzie, 2022. "Chronic Community Exposure to Environmental Metal Mixtures Is Associated with Selected Cytokines in the Navajo Birth Cohort Study (NBCS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:14:p:2569-:d:249504. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.