title: Heavy metals in hair of residents in an e-waste recycling area, south China: contents and assessment of bodily state.
abstract: Heavy metals were measured in hair from occupationally and nonoccupationally exposed populations in an e-waste recycling area and from residents from a control rural town. The levels of five heavy metals were in the following order of Zn > Pb, Cu > Cd > Ni, with the highest levels found in the occupationally exposed workers. The levels of Cd, Pb, and Cu were significantly higher in residents from the e-waste recycling area than in the control area. Elevated Cd, Pb, and Cu contents along with significant positive correlations between them in hair from the e-waste recycling area indicated that these metals were likely to have originated from the e-waste recycling activities. The similarity in heavy metal pattern between children and occupationally exposed workers indicated that children are particularly vulnerable to heavy metal pollution caused by e-waste recycling activities. The increased Cu exposure might be a benefit for the insufficient intake of Cu in the studied area. However, the elevated hair Cd and Pb levels implied that the residents in the e-waste area might be at high risk of toxic metal, especially for children and occupationally exposed workers.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Xiao-Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Jian-Gang
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Luo-Yiyi
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yi-Hui
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: She-Jun
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Bi-Xian
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Mai
authors.forename: Zhong-Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D059029:Electronic Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D059027:Recycling; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy