title: "Reference values" of trace elements in the hair of a sample group of Spanish children (aged 6-9 years) - are urban topsoils a source of contamination?
abstract: Human hair is used as a biomonitor to evaluate the environmental exposure to contaminants in the individual. However, the use of human hair is controversial, mainly because reference levels for pollutants in hair have not yet been set. In the case of Spain, few biomonitoring studies have involved infants and children. A biomonitoring study was conducted to investigate the possible normal values of trace elements of toxicological concern in children aged 6-9 years from the city of Alcalá de Henares, Community of Madrid (Spain), following the methodology and strict inclusion criteria previously developed by our group. Levels of Al, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Ti, Tl, V and Zn were monitored in scalp-hair from 117 healthy children (47 boys and 70 girls) between April and May of 2001. The levels of trace elements here described could be considered as possible "reference values" for children aged 6-9 years resident in the Community of Madrid. These values might also be selected as a preliminary screening tool to evaluate if a Spanish child has been exposed to any of the contaminants studied here. This study also investigated whether local urban topsoils were a source of metals for this population.
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Alcalá, Unidad de Toxicología, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: Antonio.Pena-Fernandez@phe.gov.uk.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Peña-Fernández
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Alcalá, Unidad de Toxicología, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 33.6, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: González-Muñoz
authors.affiliation: IMIDRA, Departamento de Investigación Agroambiental, Finca el Encín, Crta. Madrid-Barcelona Km, 38.2, 28800 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Lobo-Bedmar
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis*; D012016:Reference Values; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008670:Metals; D012987:Soil; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Biomonitoring; Children; Human hair; Metals and metalloids; Reference values; Spain