Environmental exposure to manganese and health risk assessment from personal sampling near an industrial source of airborne manganese.

Manganese (Mn), despite being a trace element necessary in small quantities for the correct functioning of the organism, at higher concentrations can induce health disorders, mainly in motor and cognitive functions, even at levels found in non-occupational environments. For this reason, US EPA guidelines define safe reference doses/concentrations (RfD/RfC) for health. In this study, the individualised health risk of exposure to Mn through different media (air, diet, soil) and routes of entry into the organism (inhalation, ingestion and dermal absorption) was assessed according to the procedure defined by the US EPA.

Short- and long-term exposure to trace metal(loid)s from the production of ferromanganese alloys by personal sampling and biomarkers.

The environmental exposure to trace metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) was assessed near a ferromanganese alloy plant using filters from personal particulate matter (PM) samplers (bioaccessible and non-bioaccessible fine and coarse fractions) and whole blood as short-term exposure markers, and scalp hair and fingernails as long-term biomarkers, collected from volunteers (n = 130) living in Santander Bay (northern Spain). Bioaccessible and non-bioaccessible metal(loid) concentrations in coarse and fine PM from personal samplers were determined by ICP-MS after extraction/digestion. Metal(loid) concentration in biomarkers was measured after alkaline dilution (whole blood) and acid digestion (fingernails and scalp hair) by ICP-MS as well.

Poorer cognitive function and environmental airborne Mn exposure determined by biomonitoring and personal environmental monitors in a healthy adult population.

Background/aim: In the Santander Bay (Cantabria, northern Spain), a ferromanganese alloy plant is located. Our objective was to characterize the Mn personal exposure of adult healthy volunteers living in this highly Mn exposed region, and to determine its association with a poorer cognitive function.

Methods: Cross-sectional study analyzing 130 consecutive participants.

Biomonitoring and bioaccessibility of environmental airborne manganese in relation to motor function in a healthy adult population.

Background/aim: Santander, the capital of Cantabria, Spain (172,000 inhabitants) is 7 km from an industrial emission source (IES) of Mn located in a 10,000 inhabitants town (Maliaño) (annual air Mn arithmetic mean = 231.8 ng/m; reference WHO guideline = 150 ng/m). Our objective was to compare the motor function of adult healthy volunteers living in both places.

Impact of Environmental Airborne Manganese Exposure on Cognitive and Motor Functions in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background/objective: Whether environmental exposure to Manganese (Mn) in adults is associated with poorer results in cognitive and motor function is unclear. We aimed to determine these associations through a meta-analysis of published studies.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify epidemiological studies on a population ≥18 years old exposed to environmental airborne Mn, and in which results on specific tests to evaluate cognitive or motor functions were reported.