The distance-to-source trend in vanadium and arsenic exposures for residents living near a petrochemical complex

Biological monitoring of vanadium (v) and arsenic (as) for residents living near a big petrochemical complex has not been previously studied. this study aims to investigate distance-to-source trends in urinary levels and dispersion-estimated concentrations of v and as in areas surrounding a petrochemical complex in central taiwan. our study subjects were 1424 residents living in the townships up to ~40 km from the petrochemical complex, and categorized as near (zone a), further (zone b) and furthest (zone c) from the complex. urinary and ambient v and as levels were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. two-stage dispersion model was used to estimate v and as concentrations at each study subject’s address. multiple linear regression models were used to study the effects of distance-to-source and estimated air concentrations of v and as on the urinary v and as levels of study subjects. area-wide levels of both v and as showed a high-to-low trend in urinary levels (μg/g-creatinine) from zone a (v with 2.86±2.30 and as with 104.6±147.9) to zone c (v with 0.73±0.72 and as with 73.8±90.8). for study subjects, urinary v and as levels were decreased by 0.09 and 1.17 μg/g-creatinine, respectively, with 1 km away from the emission source of the petrochemical complex, and urinary v levels were significantly elevated by 0.38 μg/g-creatinine with a 1 ng/m3 increase in estimated ambient v concentrations at their addresses. our study concludes a distance-to-source gradient in v and as exposures exists for residents living near a petrochemical complex with oil refineries and coal-fired power plants and two-stage dispersion model can predict such a trend for v when inhalation is the major exposure route, but not for as that exposure may be from multiple sources and exposure routes.