A possible link between Balkan endemic nephropathy and the leaching of toxic organic compounds from Pliocene lignite by groundwater: preliminary investigation

• Published in: International journal of coal geology 1999-06, Vol.40 (2), p.237-252
• Main Authors: Orem, William H, Feder, Gerald L, Finkelman, Robert B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN); Coal; Diseases; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environmental impact; Exact sciences and technology; Gas chromatography; Groundwater geochemistry; Groundwater pollution; Health hazards; Health risks; Leaching; Mass spectrometry; Pliocene lignites; Pollution, environment geology; Sedimentary rocks; Toxic materials; toxic organic compounds
• ISSN: 0166-5162; 1872-7840
• DOI: 10.1016/S0166-5162(98)00071-8

Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a fatal kidney disease that is known to occur only in clusters of villages in alluvial valleys of tributaries of the Danube River in Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bosnia, and Croatia. The confinement of this disease to a specific geographic area has led to speculation that an environmental factor may be involved in the etiology of BEN. Numerous environmental factors have been suggested as causative agents for producing BEN, including toxic metals in drinking water, metal deficiency in soils of BEN areas, and environmental mycotoxins to name a few. These hypotheses have either been disproved or have failed to conclusively demonstrate a connection to the etiology of BEN, or the clustering of BEN villages. In previous work, we observed a distinct geographic relationship between the distribution of Pliocene lignites in the Balkans and BEN villages. We hypothesized that the long-term consumption of well water containing toxic organic compounds derived from the leaching of nearby Pliocene lignites by groundwater was a primary factor in the etiology of BEN. In our current work, chemical analysis using 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13 C NMR ) spectroscopy indicated a high degree of organic functionality in Pliocene lignite from the Balkans, and suggested that groundwater can readily leach organic matter from these coal beds. Semi-quantitative gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy analysis of solvent extracts of groundwater from shallow wells in BEN villages indicated the presence of potentially toxic aromatic compounds, such as napthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, and pyrene at concentrations in the ppb range. Laboratory leaching of Balkan Pliocene lignites with distilled water yielded soluble organic matter (>500 MW) containing large amounts of aromatic structures similar to the simple/discrete aromatic compounds detected in well water from BEN villages. These preliminary results are permissive of our hypothesis and suggest that further work on the possible relationship between the etiology of BEN and toxic aromatic substances leached from Pliocene lignites in well water is warranted.