Potentially toxic metals in dust, blood, and hairs from exposed security dogs in an oil and gas industry

Abstract

Environmental pollutants pose a health risk to animals and humans. We evaluated levels of some potentially toxic metals in environmental dust, blood, and hair samples of apparently healthy security dogs from a crude oil well drilling site (A) and liquefied natural gas production site (B) industrial environments in Nigeria. These samples were routinely digested and analyzed for lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium, and zinc using atomic absorption spectrophotometry assay. Mann‑Whitney U test was used to compare concentrations of the metals in different samples. Dust samples contained a high amount of the metals considered. There was no significant difference between levels of heavy metals in blood and hair samples from dogs guarding both sites, except for blood (p = 0.034) and hair (p = 0.015) chromium which were higher in those securing site A compared with site B. Higher nickel (p = 0.001) and zinc (p = 0.001) with lower chromium (p = 0.004) levels occurred in the hair samples than in the blood. Lead was not detected in blood and hair samples suggesting safety. There was no correlation between the same metal in blood and hair. Hair chromium and nickel levels were above the reference suggesting toxic exposure. There is a need for regular monitoring and decontamination of air pollutants within similar facilities for environmental safety.

Keywords

• Dog
• Environmental pollutants
• Exposure
• Health risk
• Potentially toxic metals