Biomonitoring for uranium exposure among young children living in nineteen states across five regions of Brazil

In this study, concentration of uranium was determined in urine samples collected from 400 Brazilian children (6–14 years old) from different geographic regions. The mean concentration was 33.2 ng/g creatinine. Urinary concentrations of uranium were found to have region and age as predictors. The concentrations of uranium were higher in the South, Southeast and Central-West than in the other regions of Brazil. Moreover, higher concentrations of this element were found in younger children (< 10 years old). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the exposure of a Brazilian population to uranium. (author)