Blood levels of lead, cadmium and selenium in children from Bytom, Poland

Abstract

A study was carried out on the concentration of cadmium, lead and selenium in blood from 140 school children, aged 8–9 years, living in Bytom in the Silesian Region, an industrialized area of Poland. Concentrations of lead in blood ranged from 0.17 to 1.67 μmol Pb 1‐1 with a median of 0.38 μmol Pb 1‐1. Levels of cadmium in blood ranged from 2 to 22 nmol Cd 1‐1 with a median of 4 nmol Cd 1‐1. The values obtained were relatively low and indicated only a moderate exposure to lead and cadmium in the majority of the study population. However, 20% of the children had blood lead levels exceeding 0.48 μmol Pb 1‐1, which is a level of concern issued by Centers for Disease Control (CDC), USA. Concentrations of selenium in blood were 0.63 to 1.40 μmol Se 1‐1 with a median of 0.91 μmol Se 1‐1. The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐px) was measured in whole blood in 70 of the children and correlated to selenium concentration.