| Abstract | The Salsigne gold mine (South France), once the largest in Europe, ceased its operations
twenty years ago. However, a considerable quantity of waste material exposed to wind, rain
drainage, and flooding, leads to the dry and wet deposition of fine metal(oid) particles (arsenic,
lead, bismuth, copper, cadmium, mercury and zinc) in the surrounding area. Nevertheless, there
is a lack of exposure studies on domestic animals, pets, and humans in the region. The One
Health concept posits that human health is deeply interconnected with the health of animals and
their environment.
Pet dogs can serve as reliable sentinels of long-term exposure to environmental
pollutants. Thereby, hair (N=49) and nails (N=14) were sampled from dogs residing in mining
(up to 10 km from Salsigne mine) and control areas (central France, 12 km SW from Lyon).
The owners of the dogs provided consent for their participation in the study, along with their
animals' biometric data, dietary habits, and outdoor routines. Dogs residing in communes near
the mine exhibited higher arsenic levels in hair compared to those from the control area, while
in nails this difference was not confirmed. Sex, age, body mass, duration of residence in the
mining region or regular swimming in nearby tributaries of the Orbiel River had no influence
on hair or nail arsenic levels. However, a strong correlation was observed between arsenic levels
in hair and nails. This research has shown that arsenic found in the keratinized tissues of pet
dogs living alongside humans can serve as a reliable indicator of arsenic pollution resulting
from centuries of mining activity. |
| Abstract (croatian) | Nekada najveći u Europi, rudnik zlata u Salsigne (jug Francuske) prestao je s radom
prije dvadeset godina. Značajne količine otpadnog materijala koje su zaostale nakon zatvaranja
rudnika izložene su vjetru, kiši i ispiranju, što rezultira suhim i mokrim taloženjem sitnih čestica
metal(oid)a (arsena, olova, bizmuta, bakra, kadmija, žive i cinka) u okoliš. Studije utjecaja
izloženosti domaćih životinja, kućnih ljubimaca i ljudi s tog područja spomenutim
Istraživanja i važnost povezanosti zdravlja ljudi sa zdravljem životinja i okoliša dio su
One Health koncepta. Povezane studije pokazale su da psi kao kućni ljubimci mogu poslužiti
kao pouzdani indikatori dugotrajne izloženosti zagađenju iz okoliša. Stoga su u ovoj studiji
prikupljeni uzorci dlake (N=49) i nokata (N=14) pasa s područja nekadašnjeg rudnika zlata i
arsena (u radijusu od oko 10 km od rudnika Salsigne) te kontrolnog područja u centralnoj
Francuskoj (u radijusu od oko 12 km sjeverozapadno od Lyona). Vlasnici pasa dali su pisani
pristanak za sudjelovanje pasa u studiji te biometrijske podatke o psima, njihovim
prehrambenim navikama i ponašanju izvan kuće. U dlaci pasa koji žive u blizini rudnika nađene
su više razine arsena u odnosu na dlaku pasa s kontrolnih područja, dok nokti nisu pokazali
takvu razliku. Spol, dob, tjelesna masa, godine koje je pas proveo na širem području rudnika te
navika plivanja u rijeci Orbiel i njenim pritokama nisu pokazale utjecaj na razinu arsena u dlaci
i noktima. Nađena je jaka povezanost između razina arsena u dlaci i noktima pasa. Rezultati
ovog istraživanja pokazali su da razina arsena u keratiniziranim tkivima pasa koji dijele
kućanstvo s ljudima može poslužiti kao vjerodostojan pokazatelj onečišćenja arsenom na
području opterećenom posljedicama višestoljetnih rudarskih aktivnosti. |
