London:
British scientists claimed to have developed a new method by which arsenic poisoning can be measured through the clippings of toenail of the infected persons.
The researchers used toenail clippings of those living close to a former arsenic mine to find fresh evidence of exposure to the poisonous metalloid which infects people in several ways such as through contaminated water, food, dust or soil.
"We initially identified high levels of arsenic in earthworms living in contaminated soils surrounding the former mine. That got us thinking about potential exposure in people living close to the site," said Mark Button of the University of Leicester.
The research, published online in the Journal of Environmental Monitoring, was carried out with the help of Gawen Jenkin, Department of Geology, University of Leicester; Chris Harrington, School of Science and Technology at Nottingham Trent University and Michael Watts of the British Geological Survey.
The scientists collected toenails and washed and acid digested the samples under microwave irradiation. They then analysed the samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
"This preliminary research indicates that people living close to a former arsenic mine have elevated levels of arsenic in their toenails. However, the potential health risks in this case, if any, are not yet clear and no arsenic related health issues have been reported. A large-scale and more detailed bio-monitoring study is required to confirm these initial results," Button added.
Jenkin, lecturer in Applied Geology at the University of Leicester said: "This is the first time that the chemical form of the arsenic in the toenails has been measured that can tell us something about how it got in there and possible risk factors.
"There is definitely more research needed to look at - amongst other things - a larger sample of volunteers, to see if the values change with time (it is quite possible the high values recorded are a one-off for that person, or due to slow toenail growth concentrating harmless quantities of arsenic), and to look at the possible pathways by which the arsenic is ingested. Coupling our analysis with regular blood measurements would be very revealing."
However, the researchers said that they cannot assess arsenic contamination simply by looking at toenails.
