Assessment of regional exposure factors associated with soil impact in cities of the Arctic region

Background: Unfavorable climatic conditions determine the interaction between people and soil in northern territories, differing from those in southern regions of Russia. When assessing risks, standard exposure factors (EFs) must be adjusted to reflect regional characteristics. Aim: TO study regional EFs used to assess health risk from exposure to chemical soil pollutants in urban areas of the Arctic zone. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by questioning 752 children aged 1–6 years, 1027 children aged 7–17 years, and 323 adults aged 18 years and older, all living in the cities of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. Physiological and behavioral EFs related to soil exposure were studied. The median (Me), relative frequencies, and 95% confidence intervals were used to describe the data. To test the null hypotheses, the nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test, Wilcoxon two-sample test, and χ-square test were used. Results: Chi ldren aged 1–6 years spent an average of 10 more days in the city compared to children aged 7–17 years and adults ( p 0.001). Children aged 1–6 years also spent 3.2 times more days playing on soil/sand (Me=48 days) and 1.3 times more time playing daily (Me=50 min/day) than children aged 7–17 years ( p 0.001). Adults spent 1.7 times more days on land from May to October (Me=50 days) and worked with soil 2.2 times more time daily (130 min/day) than children aged 7–17 years ( p 0.001). Average daily doses for oral exposure to soil chemicals, calculated using regional EFs, are 2–10 times higher in children from the Arkhangelsk agglomeration and 5 and 1.2 times lower in adults compared to doses calculated using WHO and US EPA recommended EFs values. Conclusion: Differenc es were revealed in quantitative and categorical values of most regional EFs associated with the soil ingress in the body across different age groups. Using the characteristic regional exposure factors of specific population allows for improving the accuracy and reliability of the assessed risk to public health.