Heavy metal pollution in the environment has gained interest in the past few decades, as it has been found to accumulate in soil and water, as well as in the human body. Heavy metals present a serious health risk to humans when the concentration level and exposure time are increased. Although they have been extensively studied in the environment and food, little is known regarding their occurrence in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. To fill this gap, we investigated the occurrence of some metals and heavy metals, namely aluminium (Al), barium (Ba), mercury (Hg), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn), in the blood of crude oil workers (40 men) who have worked in crude oil fields for at least 3 years—exposed group. In addition, a control group of 40 men was selected who have never worked or been close to crude oil fields. There is a significant correlation of metal concentrations between exposed and control groups, especially for Al, Ba, Hg, Mn and V (significant for all metals). Even though the correlation for Pb and Zn was weak, the concentrations were higher by 2-folds in the exposed group compared to the control group. Thus, the exposure caused an increase in the concentration of heavy metals by at least 1-fold in the blood of the exposed group compared to the control group. The environmental and ecotoxicological relevance of heavy metals in humans and the environment in areas with industrial activities have yet to be assessed.

Graphical abstract

中文翻译：

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对伊拉克北部库尔德斯坦地区原油工人中某些重金属的评估

在过去的几十年中，环境中的重金属污染引起了人们的关注，因为发现它会在土壤，水中以及人体中积累。当浓度水平和暴露时间增加时，重金属会对人类造成严重的健康风险。尽管对它们的环境和食物进行了广泛的研究，但关于它们在伊拉克北部库尔德斯坦地区的发生知之甚少。为了填补这一空白，我们调查了一些金属和重金属的发生，即铝（Al），钡（Ba），汞（Hg），锰（Mn），铅（Pb），钒（V）和锌（Zn ），在原油田中工作了至少3年的原油工人（40名男性）的血液中–暴露人群。此外，还选择了一个40人的对照组，他们从未工作过，也没有去过原油田。暴露组和对照组之间的金属浓度之间存在显着相关性，尤其是对于Al，Ba，Hg，Mn和V（对于所有金属均显着）。尽管铅和锌的相关性较弱，但与对照组相比，暴露组的浓度高出2倍。因此，与对照组相比，暴露导致暴露组血液中重金属浓度增加至少1倍。重金属对人类和从事工业活动的地区在环境和生态毒理学方面的相关性尚待评估。暴露组的浓度比对照组高2倍。因此，与对照组相比，暴露导致暴露组血液中重金属浓度增加至少1倍。重金属对人类和从事工业活动的地区在环境和生态毒理学方面的相关性尚待评估。暴露组的浓度比对照组高2倍。因此，与对照组相比，暴露导致暴露组血液中重金属浓度增加至少1倍。重金属对人类和从事工业活动的地区的环境与生态毒理学的相关性尚待评估。

图形概要