Concentrations Of Toxic Heavy Metals Research Articles

Investigation and Determination of Mineral Nutrient of Composition of Cassava, at Selected Woreda’s of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the oldest root and tuber crops, used by humans to produce food, feed and beverages. It can be produced adequately in drought conditions making it the ideal food security crop in marginal environments. Although cassava can tolerate drought stress, it can be genetically improved to enhance productivity in such harsh environments. Currently, cassava is produced in more than 100 countries and fulfills the daily caloric demands of millions of people living in tropical America, Africa, and Asia. In this study the nutritional composition, toxic heavy metal and cyanide content of cassava root grown in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia were investigated. Cassava samples were collected from five selected Woredas (Districts) of the Zone, where the plant usually grows. The concentration of the mineral elements; calcium, magnesium iron and copper analyzed ranged from 153-436 mg/kg, 65-207 mg/kg, 54.23-127.03 mg/kg, and 0.09-0.36 mg/kg respectively. In addition to the above parameters, the recovery of the mineral and toxic heavy metals determined was between 81-120%. Wet sample digestion method was used for mineral and toxic heavy metal determination purpose. The results of mineral composition of analyzed cassava root samples were rich in mineral contents. The composition of cassava depends on the specific tissue (root or leaf) and on several factors, such as geographic location, variety, age of the plant, and environmental conditions.

Source and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Non-Certified Organic Rice Farming at Nakhon Nayok Province, Thailand

Heavy metals contamination is a problem in some non-certified organic rice farms that do not have buffer zones. Soil monitoring is therefore required to estimate the potential risk of such organic products. The objectives of the present study are to determine the extent of heavy metal contamination, sources of contamination and assessment of non-carcinogenic health risks to local consumers. Concentrations of toxic heavy metals were determined in soil and rice grain to assess the bioaccumulation factor. The health risk assessment was analyzed following Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) and the Hazard Index (HI). Sources of heavy metal contamination were determined by a correlation study of heavy metal contents, THQ and HI with some physical properties of these non-certificated organic rice fields. The occurrence of heavy metals in agricultural soils and rice grain were ranked in the following order: Pb > Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni and Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni. However, Pb and Zn contamination exceeded maximum permissible levels in rice grain. Non-certified organic rice from these locations might therefore present a health risk for consumers; the high HI values of rice consumption for adult males (5.10-35.09) and 6.12-42.08) indicated a serious adverse health risk for consumers. Individual correlation analysis and principal component analysis indicated that the THQ of Zn was positively correlated with its content in soil and in the grain. Main roads and community activities were found to be the main source of contamination for Zn and Mn, while Pb and Cu contamination mainly derived from paddy field activities such as fertilizer application. This finding will contribute to raising public awareness of the health risks of non-certified organic rice farming.

Risk assessment of heavy metals content in different hair dyes and their users’ urine samples

ABSTRACT Human toxicity of heavy metals is the result of long-term exposure to pollutants found in hair dyes. In this study, levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and urine were evaluated in various hair dyes products sold in local stores in Riyadh using inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) after digestion with a mixture of nitric acid (HNO3), hydrofluoric acid (HF) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for hair dyes, while a mixture of HNO3 and H2O2 was used for urine. The mean concentrations of the selected heavy metals in hair dye ranged (0.0015–0.0035 ppm) from Cd, (0.003–0.014 ppm) from Pb, which were within the permissible international limits, while for Hg (1.1–4.3 ppm) from Hg was higher than the permissible international limits. The mean concentrations of the selected heavy metals in urine ranged (0. 002, 0.011 and 1.3 ppm) from Cd, Pb, and Hg respectively in the urine. However, in the case of urine samples, the average concentration of Pb was higher than the permitted international limits. The current study showed that the use of hair dyes exposes users to low concentrations of toxic heavy metals that can cause potential health damage to users.

Microplastic–toxic chemical interaction: a review study on quantified levels, mechanism and implication

Current problem facing researchers globally is microplastics as well as toxic chemical pollution of the ecosystem. Microplastics carry toxic chemicals in the ecosystem serving as a vector for transport. In this study, a review of the literature has been conducted with the following objectives: (1) to summarize the concentrations of toxic chemicals such heavy metals and hydrophobic organic contaminants sorped on microplastics; (2) to evaluate their spatial distribution regarding adsorbed contaminant; (3) to discuss plausible mechanism by which microplastics adsorp or desorp toxic chemicals in the environment; (4) to discuss implications of their occurrence in air, water and soil media; and (5) to discuss the impact of ingested microplastics to human health. Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental contaminant. Concentrations of sorped toxic chemical varied by location which represents a local problem; industrialized areas (especially areas experiencing crude oil-related activities or have history of crude oil pollution) have higher concentrations than less industrialized areas. Ingestion of microplastics has been demonstrated in a range of marine and soil organisms as well as edible plants, thus possibly contaminating the base of the food web. Potential health effect to human is by particle localization, chemical toxicity and microbial toxins. We conclude by highlighting the gap in knowledge and suggesting key future areas of research for scientists and policymakers.

Toxic heavy metal (Pb and Cd) content in tobacco cigarette brands in Selangor state, Peninsular Malaysia.

Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are ubiquitous metals widely distributed in the environment, resulting in toxic health effects. This project aims to evaluate Pb and Cd as toxic elements in 15 different tobacco cigarette brands produced and/or sold in Selangor state, Peninsular Malaysia. The concentrations of Pb and Cd in all tobacco brands tested in this study were determined using the air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). On average, the concentrations of Pb and Cd in different tobacco brand samples ranged from 3.05 and 0.80μg/g dw, respectively. The results indicate that assessment mean values of Pb inhaled from smoking one packet of 20 cigarettes were in the range of 1.55-3.51μg. Furthermore, the concentration of Cd inhaled per packet of cigarettes (20 sticks) is estimated to be 0.04-0.36μg. However, there was a significant difference in the concentrations of Pb and Cd between the different brands of tobacco cigarettes, among cigarette prices (cheap versus expensive) of tobacco brands. In conclusion, cigarette smokers in Selangor, Malaysia, are heavily exposed to Pb and Cd, and such exposure could adversely affect their health in the long term. The impact of toxic heavy metals on smokers in this state would be an area for future research.

Heavy metals risk assessment in drinking water: An integrated probabilistic-fuzzy approach

Heavy metal(loids) in drinking water have long been a critical water quality concern. Chronic exposure to toxic heavy metals and metalloids (TMMs) through water ingestion can result in significant health risks to the public, while elevated concentrations of less toxic heavy metals (LTMs) can compromise the aesthetic value of water. An integrated probabilistic-fuzzy approach was developed to help water utilities assess water quality regarding heavy metal(loids) (WQHM). In probabilistic assessments, the probabilities of exceedance of health risk guidelines due to chronic exposure to TMMs and exceedance of aesthetic objectives due to elevated LTMs concentrations were quantified through Monte Carlo simulations. The probabilistic assessments can address the aleatory uncertainties due to random variations of health risk parameters. A fuzzy inference system, composed of fuzzy membership functions, operators, and rules, was used to facilitate interpreting WQHM based on the probabilities of guideline exceedance. Epistemic uncertainties due to vagueness and imprecision in linguistic variables used for describing health risks and aesthetic impacts can be reduced by fuzzy inferencing. The developed approach was applied to four water quality scenarios characterized by different combinations of TMMs and LTMs concentrations. Reasonable decisions were recommended for WQHM management under the four scenarios. The developed approach offers a useful tool for systematically assessing WQHM from a health risk mitigation perspective by addressing different types of uncertainties.

Removing Heavy Metals from Wastewater by using Rice Husk Wastes Fiber

Environmental problems increase due to disposal of wastes in large quantities. Industrial wastewater is the most serious pollutants because it contains high concentrations of toxic substances and heavy metals. Agricultural wastes also cause environmental pollutants especially when it is disposed by burning. So, it is necessary to find usage of agricultural wastes as a low cost material for adsorption of heavy metals such as zinc and chromium in industrial wastewater.Rice husk fiber was used in this study to remove zinc and chromium from industrial wastewater. The obtained removal ratios obtained were 94.33% and 89.2% for Zn+2 and Cr (VI), respectively. The study showed that the removal ratio increases by increasing the adsorption contact time and decreasing the flow rate. It also showed that, the removal efficiency for zinc was better than Cr (VI) using rice husk waste fiber. The success of use the cheap adsorbent as adsorbent material from the agricultural waste in industrial wastewater treatment open the door for the existing factories to treat their wastewater with low cost that has no effect on their profits and prevent any punishment for environmental pollution.

Distribution and ecological risks of heavy metals in Lake Hussain Sagar, India

Lake contamination by anthropogenic activities has become a serious threat to the aquatic ecosystem due to the presence of a high concentration of toxic heavy metals. In this study, a contaminated Lake Hussain Sagar in India was assessed for toxic heavy metal pollutants at sites associated with industrial discharges and idol immersion activities. The observed high concentration of As, Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ni in the surface water was due to industrial effluent discharge. About 1.5 times the high concentration of the same elements were observed in surface sediments (0–10 cm) by both industrial discharges and idol immersion activities, compared to deep sediments (0–40 cm) associated only with industrial discharge. The depth-wise variation of heavy metal concentration in surface sediments is due to sorption and settling behavior of suspended solids; whereas in deep sediment, it is due to constant loading of effluents, over a period of time. The sorption capacity of surface sediments is in increasing order as Pb > Cd ≥ Ni ≥ Cr ≥ Zn ≥ Cu, and the desorption revealed that Pb and Cu were retained to a greater extent due to high clay and organic content. By fractionation study, 20–50% of Zn and 50–80% of Cd were associated with exchangeable and carbonate fraction of sediments. By risk assessment code, Zn and Cd are classified under high risk to a very high-risk category, and Cr, Pb, Ni, and Cu are classified under the medium risk category. The enrichment factor value of sediments for Cd (20.42–119.48), Zn (2.19–4.85), Cu (2.02–3.19), and Pb (2.85–7.72) signifies the significant pollution by anthropogenic activities. Therefore, this study evaluates the intensity and distribution of heavy metals in the lake environment for remediation and restoration of the lake ecosystem.

Metal Content in Small Pelagic Fish in the North-West Africa

This work presents the analysis of 20 heavy metals concentrations (Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn) in 80 muscle samples of two species widely consumed by humans, such as the European sardine (Sardina pilchardus) and the blue jack mackerel (Trachurus picturatus). Both species have similar metal concentrations, with significant differences in Ba, Ca, Ni, Pb and Mn. Most of the relations between the concentration of metals and the weight of the individuals were negative. All concentrations of toxic heavy metals were lower (than the legislated maximum limits for consumption S. pilchardus: 3.983 mg/kg Al, 0.016 mg/kg Cd, 0.047 mg/kg Pb, and T. picturatus: 5.484 mg/kg Al, 0.011 mg/kg Cd, 0.040 mg/kg Pb). The results were compared with available information with available information for the species. Higher metallic content found in studies from close areas of the African coast, could be due to the influence of the upwelling and to the dust from the the Saharan desert.

Real-time sensing of lead with epitaxial graphene-integrated microfluidic devices

Since even low concentrations of toxic heavy metals can seriously damage human health, it is important to develop simple, sensitive and accurate methods for their detection. Graphene, which is extremely sensitive to foreign species, is a key element in the development of a sensing platform where low concentrations of analyte have to be detected. This work discusses the proof of concept of a sensing platform for liquid-phase detection of heavy metals (e.g. Pb) based on epitaxial graphene sensors grown on Si-face 4H-SiC substrate (EG/SiC). The sensing platform developed includes a microfluidic chip incorporating all the features needed to connect and execute the Lab-on-chip (LOC) functions using 3D printing fast prototyping technology. Herein, we present the response of EG to concentrations of Pb2+ solutions ranging from 125 nM to 500 μM, showing good stability and reproducibility over time and an enhancement of its conductivity with a Langmuir correlation between signal and Pb2+ concentration. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed and clearly explain the conductivity changes and the sensing mechanism in agreement with the experimental results reported, confirming the strong sensitivity of the sensor to the lowest concentrations of the analyte. Furthermore, from the calibration curve of the system, a limit of detection (LoD) of 95 nM was extrapolated.

Bioaccumulation Levels and Potential Health Risks of Mercury, Cadmium, and Lead in Albacore (Thunnus alalunga, Bonnaterre, 1788) from The Aegean Sea, Greece.

Aegean Sea albacore (T. alalunga), fresh or processed, is marketed locally in Greece or exported, mainly to Japan, Italy, Spain, and France. To provide information for consumers and biomonitoring programs and assess the potential human health risks, concentrations of mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) were determined in albacore edible muscle samples from two fishing grounds of the Aegean Sea, Greece via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS). Of the 82 individuals, 28 contained Cd and three contained Pb above the permissible limits set by the European Union (0.1 mg kg−1 wet wt and 0.3 mg kg−1 wet wt, respectively). None of the samples contained mercury above the limit (1.0 mg kg−1 wet wt). Potential health risks to human via dietary intake of albacore were estimated by the total target hazard quotients (TTHQs), which indicated that the consumers could acquire health problems due to consumption of Aegean Sea albacore. Thus consequently, concentrations of toxic heavy metals in albacore, especially mercury, must be monitored regularly and comprehensively with respect to consumer health.

Nutritional Minerals and Heavy Metals in Tea Infusions and Daily Intake of Human Body

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most popular nonalcoholic beverages in the world. During tea infusion, both essential mineral elements and toxic metals are extracted into the beverage. In oriental countries, almost a liter of tea is consumed daily by an average adult. Thus, high toxic elements in traditional teas can be of concern. Aim of the study was to determine the essential element contents and toxic heavy metal concentrations in tea products available on the market in Turkey and comparing the contents of infusion for Turkish and Ceylon black and green tea types. The associated health risk to tea drinkers were estimated with reference to Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) Values from US EPA for adults and children. Among the essential elements in all of the black teas purchased from the market, K was present at the highest concentration followed by Mg, Ca and Al. Pb and Mn contents of several tea samples were found over the Tolerable Daily Intake levels.

Molecular characterization of acutely and gradually heavy metal acclimated aquatic bacteria by FTIR spectraoscopy.

In the environment, bacteria can be exposed to the concentration gradient of toxic heavy metals (gradual) or sudden high concentration of them (acute). In both situations, bacteria get acclimated to toxic heavy metal concentrations. Acclimation causes metabolic and molecular changes in bacteria. In this study, we aimed to understand whether there are differences between molecular profiles of the bacteria (Brevundimonas, Gordonia and Microbacterium) which are under acute or gradual exposure to cadmium or lead by using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. Our results revealed the differences between the acclimation groups in membrane dynamics including changes in the structure and composition of the membrane lipids and proteins. Furthermore, protein concentrations decreased in acclimated bacterial groups. Also, a remarkable increase in exopolymer production occurred in acclimated groups. Interestingly, bacteria under acute cadmium exposure produced the significantly higher amount of exopolymer than they did under gradual exposure. On the contrary, under lead exposure gradually acclimate strains produced significantly higher amounts of exopolymer than those of acutely acclimated ones. This information can be used in bioremediation studies to obtain bacterial strains producing a higher amount of exopolymer.

Nutrients and heavy metals accumulation in spike and bulb of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) under varied wastewater-groundwater irrigation regimes

An experiment was conducted to assess the nutrients and heavy metals accumulation in spike and bulb of tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L. cv. Prajwal) under varied wastewater-groundwater irrigations regimes at WTC farm of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during three consecutive seasons in the years 2013-16. The treatments comprised wastewater irrigation schedules (0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 ID: CPE), conjunctive use of groundwater and municipal wastewater (at 1.0 ID: CPE) and only groundwater irrigations (at 1.0 ID: CPE) were laid-out in randomized block design with three replication. Major nutrients (N, P and K), micronutrients (Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe) and toxic heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr) concentration in spike and bulb parts of tuberose were analysed as per standard methods. Results indicated that significantly higher contents of macro nutrients (NPK), micronutrients (Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe) and toxic heavy metals (Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr) in both spike and bulb parts of tuberose were recorded under wastewater irrigations scheduled at 1.4 ID/CPE as compared to groundwater irrigation at 1.0 ID/CPE. Hence, irrigation with wastewater may enhanced uptake of nutrients and toxic heavy metals in tuberose due to their higher concentration in wastewater as compared to groundwater.

Vertical physicochemical parameter distributions and health risk assessment for trace metals in water columns in eastern Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania

The vertical distributions of trace metals and physicochemical parameters in water columns in Kigoma Bay and Kungwe Bay in eastern Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania, were studied. The Al, Ba, Ca, Co, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Sn, Sr, and V concentrations were low and varied very little with depth. The toxic heavy metal (As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) concentrations were relatively high in the surface water, and the Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn concentrations decreased with depth. Principal component and cluster analyses indicated that the metals in the lake had three main sources. Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Sr, Sn, and V were found to be geogenic; As, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sn and Zn anthropogenic; and As, Ca, Co, Mg, and Na biogenic. Human health risk assessments were performed, and it was found that trace metals in the water at most of the sampling sites would cause no potential adverse effects or non-carcinogenic health risks through dermal contact or ingestion. However, trace metals in surface water in Kungwe Bay could have certain adverse effects on human health through the ingestion pathway (the total hazard quotient for ingestion (ΣHQing ) was 1.75 (a value >1 was defined as possibly indicating adverse effects). The Pb ΣHQing for surface water in Kungwe Bay was 1.50 and contributed >80% of the ΣHQing, implying that Pb pollution is a water quality and safety problem that needs to be carefully monitored and the potential sources identified.

A preliminary integrated genetic map distinguishes every chromosome pair and locates essential genes related to abiotic adaptation of Crassostrea angulata/gigas

BackgroundThe re-sequencing of C. angulata has revealed many polymorphisms in candidate genes related to adaptation to abiotic stress that are not present in C. gigas; these genes, therefore, are probably related to the ability of this oyster to retain high concentrations of toxic heavy metals. There is, in addition, an unresolved controversy as to whether or not C. angulata and C. gigas are the same species or subspecies. Both oysters have 20 metacentric chromosomes of similar size that are morphologically indistinguishable. From a genomic perspective, as a result of the great variation and selection for heterozygotes in C. gigas, the assembly of its draft genome was difficult: it is fragmented in more than seven thousand scaffolds.ResultsIn this work sixty BAC sequences of C. gigas downloaded from NCBI were assembled in BAC-contigs and assigned to BACs that were used as probes for mFISH in C. angulata and C. gigas. In addition, probes of H3, H4 histone, 18S and 5S rDNA genes were also used. Hence we obtained markers identifying 8 out the 10 chromosomes constituting the karyotype. Chromosomes 1 and 9 can be distinguished morphologically. The bioinformatic analysis carried out with the BAC-contigs annotated 88 genes. As a result, genes associated with abiotic adaptation, such as metallothioneins, have been positioned in the genome. The gene ontology analysis has also shown many molecular functions related to metal ion binding, a phenomenon associated with detoxification processes that are characteristic in oysters. Hence the provisional integrated map obtained in this study is a useful complementary tool for the study of oyster genomes.ConclusionsIn this study 8 out of 10 chromosome pairs of Crassostrea angulata/gigas were identified using BAC clones as probes. As a result all chromosomes can now be distinguished. Moreover, FISH showed that H3 and H4 co-localized in two pairs of chromosomes different that those previously escribed. 88 genes were annotated in the BAC-contigs most of them related with Molecular Functions of protein binding, related to the resistance of the species to abiotic stress. An integrated genetic map anchored to the genome has been obtained in which the BAC-contigs structure were not concordant with the gene structure of the C. gigas scaffolds displayed in the Genomicus database.

Metals in Mytillus galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819) and Ensis directus (Conrad 1883): Risk Assessment

The study has been conducted with inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry to determine the content of toxic heavy metals, macroelements, and essential elements in two species of bivalves of commercial interest in the Canary Islands: the Mediterranean mussel ( Mytillus galloprovincialis, Lamarck 1819) and the razor clam ( Ensis directus, Conrad 1883). The study included 40 samples corresponding to 20 specimens of each species acquired from fishmongers on the island of Tenerife. E. directus had higher levels of metals, except for B, Cd, Na, and Zn (0.98, 0.02, 2,006.93, and 15.07 mg/kg, respectively) compared with those in M. galloprovincialis, B, Cd, Na, and Zn (2.67, 0.12, 2,267.7, and 22.27 mg/kg, respectively). In both bivalve molluscs, the maximum limits established by European legislation on food for human consumption were not exceeded. Likewise, the estimated daily intakes for the toxic metals Pb and Cd were below the admissible daily intakes.

Monitoring and assessment of sediment contamination with toxic heavy metals: case study of industrial effluent dispersion in Alaro River, Nigeria

The influx of effluents from industrial area into the Alaro River in Ibadan has made the investigation of the sediment quality of the river an important environmental issue for discussion. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of toxic heavy metals in surface sediment of the river in order to evaluate the impact of the effluent and spatial distribution of the metals downstream. pH, total organic carbon and grain-sized particles of the sediment samples were determined according to standard methods of analysis, while heavy metal concentrations were determined by AAS. Linear least square regression (LLSR) model was employed to describe the distribution pattern of heavy metals along the river network. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to locate the heavy metals contamination source and interpret the association between the metal concentrations upstream and downstream, which were found to be significantly different (p = 0.05) The concentrations of Ni, Zn, Cr, Co, Cu, Cd and Pb in downstream sediments were 7.74 ± 0.97, 19.5 ± 4.6, 5.78 ± 0.47, 9.6 ± 1.6. 7.36 ± 0.61, 0.47 ± 0.03 and 7.76 ± 0.80 mg/kg, respectively. The enrichment factor (EF > 1.5) and pollution load index (PLI > 1.0.) showed that the sediment was contaminated with these heavy metals. The toxicity estimation carried out suggested that the sediment was slightly toxic. Metal distribution as shown by LLSR was such that the concentration decreased with distance downstream with R2 ranging from 0.8810 to 0.9990. The LLSR models obtained are useful to predict the metal concentrations based on the known distance of the river.

Green Tea Quality Evaluation Based on Its Catechins and Metals Composition in Combination with Chemometric Analysis.

Green tea infusions are one of the most popular beverages consumed across the world, especially is Asian countries. Green tea quality is primarily based on catechin content, however, the concentration of elements could also significantly influence its biological properties and thus quality and safety. The main purpose of the present study was the evaluation of catechin, antioxidant activity and metal content (K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd and Ni) in different green tea types cultivated in Japan, Sri Lanka, South Korea, India, China and Japan. The chemical analysis of samples was performed using LC-ESI-Q-TOF-MS for organic constituents and atomic absorption spectrometry (flame and electrothermal) method for inorganic ones. The obtained results were subjected to chemometric elaboration. EGC (213 mg/100 mL of the tea infusion in South Korean Jeoncha) and EGCG (124 mg/100 mL in Japanese Sencha) were the dominant catechins in all green tea samples. Chinese and Indian green tea samples contained the highest concentration of toxic heavy metals, however these values were far below appropriate limitations for green teas. PCA revealed significant similarities between Japanese samples and Korean Jeoncha. In general the latter one was evaluated to have the best quality based on the investigated parameters.

English

The problem of heavy metal toxicity is a burning issue all over the world and more prominent in countries like Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Often times, it is seen that the people of the affected areas are unaware of the toxic effects of these metals. Medical practitioners at the same time did not investigate the presence of heavy metals in the body. The present study aims to analyze the concentration of toxic heavy metals in different body fluids and their correlation with other medical investigations. The amounts of heavy metals viz Cu, Pb, Mn and Ni in random patients suffering from liver, kidney and heart diseases of Mayo Hospital Lahore have been investigated with the help of flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The routine medical tests and treatment was performed in the same hospital while the analysis of heavy metals was done in GC University Lahore. The values of selected heavy metals are high in patients as compared to their allowed or standard values. The value of Mn was between 0.36 to 24.16 ppm, for Pb the values were between 2.10 to 24.79 ppm, for Ni it was 2.33 to 243.59 ppm and for Cu the values of these were between 3.10 to 18.83 ppm. All these values were much greater than the allowed limits. Key words: Heavy metals, diseases, Mayo Hospital.