Abstract
Children living near a copper smelter in Tacoma, Washington, were shown to have increased levels of arsenic in hair and urine. The urinary arsenic level decreased with distance of residence from the smelter stack. House vacuum-cleaner dust showed a similar distance relationship. Urine arsenic levels in children varied synchronously over a 5-wk period, indicating that inhalation was the most likely exposure route. In children urinary arsenic level showed an inverse relationship to age with younger children showing consistently higher urine arsenic levels. A death-record analysis indicated an increased respiratory cancer incidence in men working at this smelter. Since published urinary arsenic levels for men working at this smelter were similar to those seen in people residing near the smelter, it was felt that the community surrounding the smelter might be exposed to an increased respiratory cancer risk. Accordingly, action was taken to reduce arsenic emissions from the smelter.
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