Lead in blood and hair of population near an operational and a proposed area for copper mining, Malaysia

In the vicinity of a copper mine in Malaysia, blood and hair samples were collected and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry for lead concentrations. About 15% of the adult blood samples had blood Pb values that exceeded the recommended maximum level (RML) of 0.4 mu g/ml. In childre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology 1994, Vol.52 (1), p.149-154
Main Authors: MOKHTAR, M. N, AWALUDDIN, A. B, CHIN WAI FONG, MOHD WOOJDY, W. M. B. H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Copper
Environmental Pollutants - analysis
Environmental Pollutants - blood
Environmental Pollutants - pharmacokinetics
Environmental pollutants toxicology
Female
General aspects
Hair - chemistry
Hair - metabolism
Humans
Lead - analysis
Lead - blood
Lead - pharmacokinetics
Malaysia
Male
Medical sciences
Mining
Toxicology
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Description
Summary:In the vicinity of a copper mine in Malaysia, blood and hair samples were collected and analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry for lead concentrations. About 15% of the adult blood samples had blood Pb values that exceeded the recommended maximum level (RML) of 0.4 mu g/ml. In children, mean blood Pb levels were still below the RML. Blood Pb levels for males were 15-25% higher than for females. When the population was examined as a whole, blood Pb levels in the areas of the Cu mine were excessively high compared to control populations. In hair, Pb levels in adults living in the vicinity of the mine were found to be higher than a baseline value, but still lower than the RML of 30 mu g/g. Overall, Pb concentrations in blood and hair were found to be higher in the vicinity of the Cu mine than for reference locations.
ISSN:0007-4861
1432-0800
DOI:10.1007/BF00197371