Metal(loid) bioaccessibility and risk assessment of ashfall deposit from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico.

Ash emission from volcanic eruptions affects the environment, society, and human health. This study shows the total concentration and lung bioaccessible fraction of eight potential toxic metal(loid)s in five Popocatépetl ashfall samples. Mineralogical phases and particle size distribution of the ashfall were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) techniques, respectively.

Characterization and Polydispersity of Volcanic Ash Nanoparticles in Synthetic Lung Fluid.

The inhalation of natural nanoparticles (NPs) emitted from volcanic activity may be a risk to human health. However, the literature rarely reports the fate and response of NPs once in contact with lung fluids. In this work, we studied the particle size distribution of ashfall from Popocatépetl volcano, Mexico.

Fluoride presence in drinking water along the southeastern part of El Bajío Guanajuatense, Guanajuato, Mexico: sources and health effects.

Drinking water with a high natural concentration of fluoride (F) has serious consequences for the health of the rural population in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, where the water contains levels of F that are not allowed by national and international regulations (1.5 mg/L). This health problem is very common in multiple states throughout Mexico where drinking water is generally extracted from aquifers that are hosted in fractured volcanic rocks of the Tertiary.

Morphological characteristics and accumulation of arsenic in Argyrochosma formosa (Liebm.) Windham developed in a highly contaminated site with arsenic in Matehuala, SLP, México.

We studied the ability of Argyrochosma formosa growing in an arsenic heavily contaminated site to accumulate this metalloid; morphological characteristics and translocation of arsenic were evaluated in the organs. Population census of wild specimens of A. formosa was done, and 14 samples of ferns and rhizosphere soil were collected randomly.

Impact of cadmium toxicity on cartilage loss in a 3D in vitro model.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the gradual loss of articular cartilage and decrease in subchondral space. One of the risk factors Exposure to cadmium (Cd) through tobacco smoke has been identified as a major OA risk factor. There are no reports addressing the role of Cd in OA progression at the molecular level.

Adsorption/desorption of arsenic by tropical peat: influence of organic matter, iron and aluminium.

The objective of this work was to investigate the interaction of arsenic species (As(III) and As(V)) with tropical peat. Peat samples collected in Brazil were characterized using elemental analysis and 13C NMR. Adsorption experiments were performed using different concentrations of As with peat in natura and enriched with Fe or Al, at three different pH levels.

"Microscopic evidences of heavy metals distribution and anatomic alterations in breaching-leaves of Cupressus lindleyi growing around mining wastes".

In this article a study of the distribution of heavy metals in Cupressus lindleyi breaching-leaves was done in Taxco, Guerrero. At the same, heavy metals micro-localization was conducted in the breaching-leaves to understand the structural changes provoked by mining waste on plants. The most abundant contaminants in soils, tailings and different plant organs (roots, stems, and leaves) were Zn, Mn, and Pb.