Boron: Environmental Exposure and Human Health
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2011
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
There is no evidence to prove that boron has any harmful effect on human health because of environmental pollution, although the usage of boron in environment is getting higher every day. Boron is not deposited in soft tissue, and the amount of boron in hard tissue is also very limited. In addition, most of the boron daily taken is excreted via urine. According to limited number of epidemiological studies, boron may have positive effect on human health if the intake dose is within 1-13 mg per day, as suggested by the World Health Organization. It is observed that the numbers of cancer and musculoskeletal diseases are very few for the people who are living in boron mining areas. Data from reproduction toxicology can be used to find daily boron intake, but negative findings obtained from animal experiments have not been proved by epidemiological studies. In addition, the clarifying role of the boron on cellular processes should not be overlooked in the risk assessment. Once there is enough information about boron, it is very easy to figure out reference daily boron intake. It is known that boron amount in drinking water can be kept under control and the amount of boron in foodstuffs is low; hence, boron exposure is not expected to have a negative impact on human health. © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.