Reference Value for Lanthanum, Cerium and Neodymium in Children Urine in Bayan Obo

Objective To survey the exposure of light rare earth elements in healthy children and to determine the reference value for lanthanum, cerium and neodymium in the urine of children in Bayan Obo.

Methods Morning urine samples from 144 healthy pupils in Baotou Bayan Obo were collected, and the content of lanthanum, cerium and neodymium in 123 urine samples with normal creatinine in urine were determined by ICP-MS. The results were corrected by urinary creatinine and the 95% upper limit was calculated as the reference value.

Results The concentration of lanthanum, cerium and neodymium in urine samples showed a lognormal distribution. The differences between genders and in different age groups were not statistically significant (P>0.05).

Conclusions The reference value for the concentration of lanthanum, cerium and neodymium in morning urine of children in Bayan Obo district was less than 72.542, 75.818 and 45.595 μg/g, respectively.