Hepatotoxicity in Both Occupationally and Environmentally-Exposed Inhabitants of a Lead-Zinc Mining Community

Background: Uncontrolled and unregulated mining of heavy metals causes easy release and littering of the products in the immediate environment, predisposing the inhabitants of the mining community to organ damage by the heavy metals. This cross-sectional study was done to examine whether such a practice causes liver damage to both miners and non-miners, living in the same environment or not. Methods: Liver function parameters – Aspartate transaminase, Alanine transaminase, Alkaline phosphatase, Total bilirubin, Total proteins, and Albumin were evaluated to determine the degree of toxicity (if any) and loss of detoxification and synthetic functions of the liver. Results: The results showed that all the evaluated liver function parameters from the occupationally-exposed subjects were significantly higher (p 0.05) than those from environmentally-exposed and control subjects except albumin. Likewise, all the parameters from environmentally-exposed subjects were significantly higher (p 0.05) than those from control subjects except albumin. Conclusion: The results imply that both occupationally and environmentally-exposed subjects were susceptible to hepatotoxicity by the heavy metals, though at different rates of manifestation. This calls for concerted efforts by governments at all levels to enact and promulgate laws to control mining activities, not only to increase their revenue generation but most importantly to safeguard the lives of the inhabitants of the mining communities.