Probabilistic assessment of dietary rare earth elements intake among people living near a rare earth ore

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 856; p. 159141
• Main Authors: Zhuang, Maoqiang, Xie, Hongran, Jiang, Ying, Xiao, Peirui, Wang, Kebo, Chu, Zunhua, Zhao, Jinshan, Zhang, Tianliang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15.01.2023
• Subjects: Dry bean; Egg; Fruit; Maize; Shandong; Vegetable; Wheat; Dry bean; Fruit; Egg; Maize; Shandong; Wheat; Vegetable
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159141

Rare earth elements (REEs) can cause neoplasms, reduce bone density, affect children's intelligence, etc., and diet is an important way for the human body to absorb REEs. With the increasing use of REEs, the impact on human health is becoming more and more important. So, we used a probabilistic assessment method with Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the dietary intake of REEs by residents of a large light rare earth mining area in Shandong Province. 16 REEs in 447 samples (including wheat, maize, dry beans, vegetables, fruits and eggs) were detected. The mean value of total REEs for all samples was 286.96 μg/kg, and of light rare earth elements (LREEs) was 270.18 μg/kg. Among of LREEs, Ce, La, Nd and Pr were dominant. The REEs content of different food categories showed that wheat, leafy vegetables and allium vegetables had higher content of REEs, melons vegetables, root vegetables, fruits and eggs had the lowest content. The mean dietary intake of rare earth oxides for the whole population was 4.20 μg/kg bw/d, wheat and vegetables (leafy vegetables, allium vegetables and root vegetables) were the main sources of REEs. Dietary intake estimates of REEs by age and gender did not exceed the acceptable daily intake which means implying no impact on human health. [Display omitted] •Allium vegetables, leafy vegetables and wheat had high content of REEs.•Melon vegetables, root vegetables, fruits and eggs had low levels of REEs.•Wheat, leafy vegetables, allium vegetables were the main sources of dietary REEs.•Health risks associated to REEs dietary exposure on the residents of this light rare earth mining area were considerably low.•Children aged 5-12 years old have relatively high REEs dietary exposure.