Scalp hair as a monitor of population exposure to environmental pollutants

Concentrations of As, Cd, Hg, Pb, Sb and Zn have been measured in hair from population groups with varied types of environmental exposure. Rural and urban controls have exhibited low levels of most toxic elements, whereas people residing near urban lead refineries, rural gold refineries and other industries have shown high elemental concentrations in their hair. A combination of instrumental neutron-activation analysis (INAA), radiochemical neutron-activation analysis (RNAA), instrumental photon-activation analysis (IPAA) and radiochemical photon-activation analysis (RPAA) methods has been developed for the ppb-ppm range. Precision and accuracy of these methods have been evaluated by analyzing a number of standard reference materials (SRM) supplied by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) and Eastman Kodak Company. Hair analysis is superior to blood testing particularly when accumulative toxic metals such as Hg and Pb are involved. Since hair is a progressively-growing metal-containing tissue, analysis of hair strands can reflect the mean metal burden of the body better than that provided by the blood analysis. (T.G.)