Abstract: Objective To provide reference for the formulation of environmental health policies by analyzing the internal exposure levels of arsenic,selenium and antimony in whole blood of non-occupationally exposed people in Xinjiang. Method From December 2020 to December 2022,a stratified random sampling method was used to select approximately 1 008 healthy residents(50% male and 50% female) in 6 age groups(3-<6,6-<12,12-<19,19-<40,40-<60,≥60 years old) of 3-89 years oldin four study sites,including Altay City,Shuimogou District of Urumqi City,Wuqia County,and Zephyr County,and three villages(communities) in each study site. A 1 mL fasting venous blood sample was collected,and the levels of blood arsenic,blood selenium and blood antimony were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS). Excel and SPSS 21.0 were applied to organize and analyze the data. Results The actual number of whole blood samples tested was 969. The M(P₂₅,P₇₅) of blood arsenic,blood selenium,and blood antimony in the non-occupationally exposed population in Xinjiang were 0.737(0.577,1.005),110.287 (95.477,126.056),and 5.264(3.610,7.162)μg/L,respectively.The differences in blood arsenic,blood selenium,and blood antimony concentrations among the four regions were statistically significant(χ²=52.300,96.164,53.939,all P<0.05). Two-by-two comparisons showed that the blood arsenic concentrations of Altay residents were statistically different from those of Wuqia County and Zephyr County(χ²=-4.430,-6.548,both P<0.05). The blood arsenic concentrations of Shuimogou residents were statistically different from those of Wuqia County and Zephyr County(χ²=-3.057,-5.186,both P<0.05). The blood arsenic concentrations of Wuqia County residents were statistically different from those of Zephyr County(χ²=-2.030,P<0.05),and Zephyr County residents had the highest blood arsenic concentration. The blood selenium concentration of the residents of Altay City was statistically different from that of Shuimogou District,Wuqia County and Zephyr County(χ²=-4.809,-9.065,-7.620,all P<0.05). The blood selenium concentration of the residents of Shuimogou District was statistically different from that of Wuqia County and Zephyr County(χ²=-4.438,-2.908,both P<0.05),and the blood selenium concentration of the residents in Wuqia County was the highest. Blood antimony concentrations of residents of Altay City,Shuimogou District and Wuqia County were statistically significant different from those of Zephyr County(χ²=3.654,7.184,2.350,all P<0.05). Blood antimony concentrations of residents of Shuimogou District were statistically different from those of Altay City,Wuqia County and Zephyr County(χ²=-3.471,4.705,7.184,all P<0.05),and the highest blood antimony concentration was observed in residents in Shuimogou District. There were statistically significant differences in blood arsenic,blood selenium,and blood antimony concentrations among residents of urban and rural areas(χ²=5.456,4.088,-8.127,all P<0.05). Among them,blood arsenic concentration(0.681 μg/L) and blood selenium concentration(106.822 μg/L) of urban residents were lower than those of rural areas(blood arsenic was 0.778 μg/L and blood selenium was 113.518 μg/L). Blood antimony concentrations were higher in urban residents(5.996 μg/L) than in rural areas(4.795 μg/L). There were no statistically significant differences in blood arsenic,blood selenium and blood antimony concentrations among residents of different age groups and genders(χ²=4.820,10.409,5.488,all P>0.05). Correlation analysis results showed that blood selenium was positively correlated with blood arsenic and blood antimony(r=0.350,0.090,both P<0.05),and blood arsenic was negatively correlated with blood antimony(r=-0.130,P<0.05). Conclusion There are regional and urban/rural differences in blood arsenic,selenium and antimony exposure levels in non-occupationally exposed populations in Xinjiang. There are large differences between the exposure levels in the population and the results of studies in other regions of China,which may be related to the differences in geographic areas,living habits of the population,and the degree of environmental pollution and exposure.

Key words: Blood arsenic, Blood selenium, Blood antimony, Internal exposure