Title : Trace elements in bituminous coal in Colombia: Environmental health issues
Abstract:
Coal extraction is one of the most important economic sources in several countries, including Colombia. Despite the benefits to the gross domestic product, its extraction is related to the emissions of dust particles, which have the capacity to adsorb trace elements, e.g., metals and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Metal analysis in bituminous coal dust with particle sizes up to 38 m was developed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and a RA-915M Zeeman mercury analyzer with RAPID software with a pyrolysis unit (PYRO-915+) from the open-pit coal mine El Cerrejón, La Guajira in Colombia. In addition, the coal particles were submitted to hydroethanolic extraction in order to detect the presence of HAPs and organic compounds, using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Results show that the coal extracted from this open-pit coal mine presented forty four trace metals and metalloids: Li, Be, Hg, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Ga, Ge, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Hf, Ta, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, and U, and Seventeen organic compounds were identified: undecane, pentadecane, dodecane, undecane, 4-methyl, dodecane 2,6,11-trimethyl-, Heptane, 2,3-dimethyl-, Octane, 4-methyl-, Nonane, 4,5 dimethyl, Tetradecane, 2,6,10-trimethyl, cis-Aconitic anhydride, Glycerin, Ethyl iso-allocholate, Octanoid acid, 1H pyrrole-2,5 dione, Estra-1,3,5(10)-trien-17ß-ol, Benzo[a]anthracene, 6,12-dimethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro- and Neoquassin. These findings suggest that chemicals present in coal dust are biologically active and may interfere with key biochemical processes in living organisms. Also, these trace elements have major concern in toxicology due to their relationship with oxidative stress in several organisms and human tissues, including the human population, which is chronically exposed, as well as metabolic alterations, histopathological changes in macroinvertebrates of soil and mitigation of the reproductive capacity in mammals and detritivores.
Audience Take Away Notes:
- The audience will know the potential damages that bituminous coal dust may generate when population is chronically exposed
- The audience will identify the analytical techniques to detect metals and organic compounds from complex samples, including mineral coal
- The audience will be able to use the information obtained in this study to extrapolate in human health, and the pollutants found as trace elements in major concentration are possible analytes to determine their toxicological mechanism. Also, they will know the basis of the technique
- This research contributed to the development of other studies related to the health issues after chronic exposure to particulate matter.
