Hi Adeniyi, you raise a good general question, but more information is needed in order to be able to provide an answer. What type of study were you thinking of undertaking (e.g. biomedical, bioavailability, toxicology tests, etc.) and which contaminants are you most concerned about?  If you are intending on undertaking biomedical-type assessments, there are a number of cell lines that can be used (e.g. BEAS-2B cells which are human epithelial cells). Warm regards, Rachael.

Dear Rachel thanks for the answer. My research is focused on toxicity and bioavalability. The contaminants I am mostly concerned about are Pb, As, Zn and their associated metals

Dear Adeniyi,

Your question is very interesting in that you said, "In parts of Africa, it is not easy to get samples like human lungs, livers and hearts to determine the impact of mining activities on humans" implying that they are available in other places. How are they available?

Since your work is on medical geology, i.e. the geochemical distribution of harmful elements and their impact on health, working with lower mammals have been used by biochemists, and conclusions drawn on the results but mind that rats are not human, tolerance vary as well as side effects given the life span of  humans.

You may have to work with medical lab scientists, get the samples from them, even the human wastes and analyze for the harmful metals and closely followed, you will get more than you will ever expect concerning what harm they cause.

All the best.

Obianuju P. Umeji

Thank you Professor (Mrs) Obianuju P. Umeji. I will follow your advise and seek the collaboration of medical scientists.

Hi again Adeniyi, if you are interested in bioaccessibility, you could do a lung bioaccessibility study. You won't need any cell lines for this - just some reagents. I can provide more information if you're interested? Kind regards, Rachael.