title: Monitoring of heavy metal levels in the major rivers and in residents' blood in Zhenjiang City, China, and assessment of heavy metal elimination via urine and sweat in humans.
abstract: The coastal areas of China face great challenges, owing to heavy metal contamination caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization. To our knowledge, this study is the first report of the levels of heavy metals in the major rivers of Zhenjiang, one of the most important cities of the Yangtze River Delta in China. In addition, we measured heavy metal levels in the blood of 76 residents of Zhenjiang. The results suggest that the presence of heavy metals in the blood may threaten human health and the distribution appeared to correspond to most highly populated areas and/or areas with high traffic. We also found that the concentration of heavy metals in human blood showed an accumulation effect with increase in age. Moreover, the levels of most heavy metals were lower in participants who regularly exercised than in those who did not. We studied heavy metal levels in the urine and sweat of another 17 volunteers to monitor the elimination of bioaccumulated heavy metal. Heavy metals were found in the urine and sweat of all the 17 participants and were more concentrated in sweat. Induced micturition and sweating appear to be potential methods for the elimination of heavy metals from the human body.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China.
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sheng
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China. 461392842@qq.com.|Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, 53-231 CHS, Physiology 650 Charles E Young DR S, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. 461392842@qq.com.
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, China.
authors.forename: Bentuo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, 212003, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D006801:Humans; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D008875:Middle Aged; D045483:Rivers; D013542:Sweat / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Elimination; Heavy metal; Human blood; River; Urine and sweat