A study on environmental pollution monitoring and occupational health in the capital iron and steel company, Beijing, China, using nuclear and related analytical techniques

The atmospheric pollution in some Chinese cities is becoming more and more serious with the industrial development and urbanization in the past decades. The airborne particulate concentration in Beijing, the Capital of China, far exceeds the allowable level set by the Chinese government and by the related international organizations. The main contribution source for the Beijing atmospheric particles is the Capital Iron and Steel Company that constitutes 55% of total airborne particulate in Beijing. In the framework of this Coordinated Research Project organized by IAEA, this company was selected as a target workplace. The instrumental neutron activation analysis, proton induced X ray emission analysis, synchronous radiation X ray fluorescence spectrometry and other related techniques were applied to determine the concentrations of some target elements, such as heavy metals and toxic elements, in environmental samples (including airborne particles, soil and plants) and human samples (including head hair, urine and blood) collected from workers and staff members at this company. In the meantime, a surrounding region and a clean region were selected as control. All the analytical results obtained during this CRP period are presented here with statistical treatment of human health survey. Some significant conclusions and suggestion to alleviate or control the pollution are also outlined as well. (author)