Abstract
Exposure to heavy metals is mainly an occupational hazard such as in metal mining and refining, in the mechanical and chemical industry. Metals are also used as pesticides (copper and arsenic) and as therapeutic agents (Lithium carbonate, mercurial diuretics), Nylander et al 1987. Amalgams are used in dental treatment and various metals as implants in medicine, (Aronsson et al 1989, Goldwater, 1991). In some various cases the high natural occurrence of metals in food and /or drinking water can be a source of exposure (Gossel and Bricker, 1984). Sometimes the leaching of metals from eating utensils and/or cooking vessels may be a source of exposure. Environmental pollution caused by industrial emission, metals in fossile fuels or metal waste are additional sources of exposure, (Elinder, et al, 1983; Vanter and Lind, 1986). A number of countries now utilise lead-free fuels but in Zimbabwe lead is still blended in motor vehicle fuels and environmental pollution may exist.
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