Background: Considering the known complications of chronic lead intoxication (Saturnism) and also to determine the level of lead in the hair of the workers exposed to lead contamination, this study was carried out on the workers of a lead industrial complex and also two control groups in Zanjan in 2000.
Materials and Methods: This analytical study was carried out on 75 people. The scalp hair samples were collected from 25 workers who were occupationally exposed to lead contamination as case group and also from 25 subjects among the staff of the same factory and 25 subjects among Zanjan citizens as the first and the second control groups respectively. A flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine lead level in the samples. The findings were analyzed statistically using t-test and non-parametric tests.
Results: The age of all subjects in the three groups was matched. The mean concentrations of hair lead in the workers (case group), the staff (control group 1), and the citizens (control group 2) Were: 131.7±93.4 µgr/gr, 21.1±13.2 µgr/gr, and 27.9±14.1 µgr/gr respectively. The mean concentration of hair lead in tbe citizens who had used gas vehicles in comparison with those who had not used gas vehicles was statistically higher (36.9±12.2 µgr/gr VS 16.6±4.9 µgr/gr, P<0,00001).
Conclusion: Lead industry workers and also citizens who use gas vehicles are exposed to lead contamination more than others. Considering the lead contamination effects on humans, taking serious measures to alleviate the problem and also carring out a research in order to determine the reliability of measuring the hair lead levels for detecting lead contamination are recommended.
نوع مطالعه:
مقاله پژوهشی |
دریافت: 1387/8/20 | پذیرش: 1381/3/25 | انتشار: 1381/3/25