A study of trace element concentrations in human hair of the inhabitants of the Jakarta City

By applying instrumental neutron activation analysis, a study was carried out to investigate the concentration of the elements: Au, Br, Co, Cr, Fe, Hg, Sb, Se and Zn in human hair samples of the inhabitants of Jakarta City. A total of 263 samples, consisting of 177 males and 86 females of the age between 10 and 60 years, have been collected from the donors in various residential districts. The concentration ranges, the median, the average concentration and the frequency distribution of each element found in the samples are reported and discussed. The results showed that except for Co, Se and Zn, the concentration of the other elements were comparable to the reported values from other regions of the world. Co and Se were found to be higher and Zn was lower. The study of Hg in hair samples of the dentist and in hair of the population suspected to be contaminated with Hg from industrial effluents were also done. The results showed that Hg in hair of dentist was 4-5 times higher than in the population suspected to be contaminated with Hg. The arithmetic mean for Hg in this population was 4.68 +- 4.66 for males and 5.03 +- 4.51 for females. (author)