| Author(s) | *Ibrahim A. Al-Nasser and **AbdulwahabR. Hashem |
| Affiliation | *Department of Biochemistry, **Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, P.D.Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia |
| Title | Lead, Zinc and Copper Concentrations in Hair, Nails and Blood of Some Workers in Saudi Arabia |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Science. Volume 10, No 2. (1998/1418) |
| Abstract | The levels of Pb, Zn, and Cu in hair, nails and whole blood in non smoking Saudi males were determined to find out the effects of occupation and exposure period on the concentrations of these elements and to compare it with those in the control group. The study included three test groups of subjects: workers in a gas station, printing industries and traffic policemen. The control group consisted of subjects not exposed to the environmental conditions of the test groups. The levels ofPb, Zn and Cu were found to be higher in all the three groups as compared to control group. The increase in the level ofPb over the control group was about 4, 2 and 2 times higher in gas station workers, printing workers and traffic policemen, respectively. The corresponding increases in the level of Zn was about 1.5, 1.3 and 1.4 times and that of Cu 1.2, 1.2 and 1.6 times higher in the test groups, respectively when compared with the control group. The exposure time was about 4.8, 10.8 and 15.4 years for the gas station workers, printing workers and traffic policemen, respectively. The increases in the concentration of these elements were dependent on the work involved which demands some adequate protective measures for these workers. |
