title: Investigation on the Trace Elemental Profile of Sewage Workers in Kolkata, an Indian Megacity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Environmental pollution has become a global health risk. Exposure to pollutants at the work place, i.e. occupational exposure, is one of the areas that need immediate attention. The civic drainage workers are exposed to pollutants present in the wastewater they handle and most of them are toxic heavy metals. Exposure to such pollutants may be a health hazard, since it can lead to the imbalance in nutrient elements status.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the present study, profiling of trace elements in the blood of drainage worker population from an Indian megacity, Kolkata, was carried out by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) and compared with the control group population of the same area.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The elements detected by EDXRF spectrometry include P, S, Cl, K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Se, Br, and Rb. By using ANOVA with 5% significance level, we observed significant alterations in the trace elements status, iron over loading, selenium deficiency, and in Cu-Zn ratio. Gender specific variations within the same population were also observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that the drainage workers have altered elemental profile in comparison to that of control population. Significance for public healthEnvironmental pollution is a global health risk and awareness among sewage workers is growing very slowly in many developing countries. Due to this fact, workers are often exposed to different pollutants which are responsible for several health complications. Imbalances in the presence of trace elements in blood are a symptom of different health status and could also indicate new health perspectives for the future. In the present scenario, this paper is essential since this kind of analysis has not been done yet, especially regarding the health status of sewage workers. We hope this initial study will be a starting point for future investigations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Haematology and Transfusion, Medicine Medical College , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Rajlaxmi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Basu
authors.affiliation: UCC-DAE CSR Kolkata Centre , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Sidharth Sankar
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistics, Presidency University , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Arunnangshu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Haematology and Transfusion, Medicine Medical College , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Siddhartha Sankar
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Aniruddha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.affiliation: UCC-DAE CSR Kolkata Centre , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Anindita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.affiliation: UCC-DAE CSR Kolkata Centre , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Sudarshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mathummal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Haematology and Transfusion, Medicine Medical College , Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Sila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chakrabarti
keywords: Kolkata; Trace elements; blood; energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry; sewage workers