Enhancing the interpretation of in vitro bioaccessibility data by using computer controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) at the individual particle level.

The adverse health effects resulting from exposure to contaminated soil on internally displaced populations in Mitrovica, Kosovo can be determined by how the potentially harmful elements are bound in the soils. Certainly this was the case for Pb, present at concentrations ranging from 624 to 46,900 mg/kg, and at bioaccessibilities ranging <5% to nearly 90%. To assess why the soil Pb might differ so markedly in terms of its bioaccessibility, computer controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) was employed to determine how the Pb was associated with other elements at the individual particle (IP) level in soils from the area.

A new simple, low-cost approach for generation of the PM10 fraction from soil and related materials: application to human health risk assessment.

A new simple, robust and low-cost wet laboratory method for the generation of the <10 μm (PM10) particle size fraction is reported. A sedimentation method is directly compared with a centrifugation method for generation of the PM10 fraction. Both approaches are based on an integrated form of Stokes' law.

Development and application of an inhalation bioaccessibility method (IBM) for lead in the PM10 size fraction of soil.

An approach for assessing the inhalation bioaccessibility of Pb in the PM10 size fraction is presented, using an in vitro simulated epithelial lung fluid to represent the extracellular environment of the lung. The developed inhalation bioaccessibility method (IBM) is applied to a range of urban surface soils and mining wastes obtained from Mitrovica, Kosovo, a site where impacts upon human health following exposure to Pb have been internationally publicised. All Pb determinations were undertaken by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).