Assessment of Typical Heavy Metals in Human Hair of Different Age Groups and Foodstuffs in Beijing, China.

Gang Liang,Ligang Pan,Xinhui Liu

doi:10.3390/ijerph14080914

Abstract

Human hair of different age groups and foodstuff samples were collected in Beijing, China. The concerned metals—Cd, Cr, Pb, As, and Hg—were analyzed, and the metal levels in relation to age, gender, and dietary intake were further assessed. Results showed the highest level of the metals was shown by Pb, with an average concentration of 1.557 ± 0.779 mg/kg, followed by Cr (0.782 ± 0.394), Hg (0.284 ± 0.094), As (0.127 ± 0.078), and Cd (0.071 ± 0.032), following a decreasing order of Pb > Cr > Hg > As > Cd, which were all below the upper limit of normal values in China. The heavy metal concentrations varied greatly among different age groups, and higher concentrations for Cd, Cr, Pb, and As appeared in female hair, whereas higher Hg concentration were found in male hair, suggesting that age and gender were not crucial factors for assessing metal concentrations in human hair. The ingestion of cereals and vegetables were the main route by which heavy metals in the environment create hazardous health effects for local inhabitants, but the estimated metal intakes through food consumption were all lower than the proposed limit of Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI), indicating that heavy metals posed no health risks for the inhabitants. Furthermore, little relationship was found between metal intakes and the corresponding metal levels in hair. Nevertheless, the results of this study can be used to analyze the internal heavy metal burden in the resident population of Beijing area and can also serve as reference for further studies.

Highlights

IntroductionHeavy metals are a class of non-biodegradable pollutants in the environment that can enter into human bodies through different routes, such as food consumption (which is the main route of exposure to the heavy metals [1,2,3]), and can be accumulated in the body [4]
Heavy metals are a class of non-biodegradable pollutants in the environment that can enter into human bodies through different routes, such as food consumption, and can be accumulated in the body [4]
Values are relatively large, but the standard deviation (SD) values merely reflect the distribution of the heavy metal concentrations due to the biological variability of each individual

Summary

Introduction

Heavy metals are a class of non-biodegradable pollutants in the environment that can enter into human bodies through different routes, such as food consumption (which is the main route of exposure to the heavy metals [1,2,3]), and can be accumulated in the body [4]. Many of these metals are essential micronutrients (such as Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, and As), but they can become toxic at concentrations higher than the amount normally required [5], whereas some non-essential micronutrients Public Health 2017, 14, 914; doi:10.3390/ijerph14080914 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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Conclusion