Exposure to CCA-treated wood amongst food caterers and residents in informal areas of Cape Town
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/sajs.2013/20120043Keywords:
arsenic, chromium, informal food caterers, treated wood, wood fuelAbstract
We investigated the absorption of chromium, copper and arsenic released from treated wood used by street food caterers and household residents in an informal urban area and a peri-urban area in Cape Town, South Africa. Participants (n=78) selected included an equal number of caterers and residents in each area. All participants answered an exposure questionnaire and were tested for urinary chromium, copper and arsenic, while the urine of 29 participants was also tested for toxic arsenic. Urinary chromium and arsenic exceeded the environmental exposure limit in 12% and 30% of participants, respectively. Toxic arsenic was detected in 30% of samples of which 24% exceeded the environmental exposure limit of 6.4 μg/g creatinine. Urinary chromium, copper, arsenic and toxic arsenic levels were not significantly different between participants from the two areas or between caterers and household residents, controlling for confounding effects. The study provides evidence of chromium and arsenic exposure amongst both informal caterers and household residents, which requires further investigation.
Published
Issue
Section
License
All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence
Copyright is retained by the authors. Readers are welcome to reproduce, share and adapt the content without permission provided the source is attributed.
Disclaimer: The publisher and editors accept no responsibility for statements made by the authors
How to Cite
- Abstract 265
- PDF 281
- EPUB 175
- XML 166