Coal-burning roasted corn and chili as the cause of dental fluorosis for children in southwestern China

To find the pathologic cause of the children's dental fluorosis in southwestern China, diet structure before the age of 6 and prevalence rate of dental fluorosis (DF) of 405 children were investigated, and the fluorine and arsenic content of several materials were determined. The prevalence rate of DF of children living on roasted corn before the age of 6 is 100% with nearly 95% having the mild to severe DF; while that of children living on non-roasted corn or rice is less than 5% with all having very mild DF. The average fluorine and arsenic concentration are 20.26 mg/kg and 0.249 mg/kg in roasted corn, which are about 16 times and 35 times more than in non-roasted corn, respectively. The average fluorine concentration is 78 mg/kg in coal, 1116 mg/kg in binder clay and 313 mg/kg in briquette (coal mixed with clay). The average arsenic concentration of coal is 5.83 mg/kg, the binder clay is 20.94 mg/kg, with 8.52 mg/kg in the briquette. Living on roasted corn and chili is the main pathologic cause of endemic fluorosis in southwestern China. The main source of fluorine and arsenic pollution of roasted corn and chill is the briquette of coal and binder clay. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

辣椒氟平均含量及其影响因素研究

西南地区是我国燃煤污染型氟中毒流行最为严重的地区，同时也是我国主要辣椒优异种质资源的分布地之一。大量的研究已经证明，辣椒和玉米等食物在用煤火烘干过程中可以吸收富集燃煤过程释放到大气中的氟，因此由燃煤型氟污染引起的食物型氟中毒也不断受到关注。 国内外至今缺乏对辣椒氟的背景值、平均含量以及影响其含量变化的因素的系统研究，只有部分研究者对燃煤型地方性氟中毒地区的辣椒进行了零星的调查分析，所采样品具有很大的局限性，远远不能代表辣椒整体的氟含量水平；且国内外迄今尚无辣椒氟含量的卫生标准，由于辣椒与其他食物和蔬菜相比具有其特殊性，而目前国家有关食品中氟的限量标准（GB2762-2005）对辣椒而言明显不合适，因此只有在对辣椒中氟的含量进行充分调查研究，才能有针对性地制定出更为科学合理的卫生标准，才能为辣椒是否受到氟污染的判别及防止辣椒氟污染提供理论依据。本研究的目的、方法、结果及结论如下所示。 目的：调查我国西南部分地区新鲜辣椒及干辣椒的氟含量水平，了解辣椒中氟的分布规律，进而确定新鲜辣椒中氟的污染判别值并探讨辣椒氟污染的防治措施。方法：按照《食品中氟的测定》（GB/T 5009.18-2003）方法对采自西南77个县市的新鲜辣椒（176个）及干辣椒（296个）进行氟的含量测定，根据地区、辣椒品种、干燥方式、储存时间及赋存状态，对辣椒中氟的含量进行统计分析。结果：采自农田的新鲜辣椒氟的几何平均含量为8.9mg•kg-1（干重，176个样，置信度95％），干辣椒样品氟的几何平均含量为19.6mg•kg-1（干重，296个样，置信度95％）。结论：研究证实辣椒的干燥与储存方式不当是导致辣椒氟污染的主要原因；通过对新鲜辣椒中氟含量的研究，证实我国现行的食品中氟限量标准(GB2762-2005)并不适用于辣椒，建议以24.7mg•kg-1 (干重)、5.2mg•kg-1 (鲜重)为新鲜辣椒氟污染判别值。