Body Burden of Heavy Metals in Shenzhen Susceptible Population

Objective To investigate the body burden of chromium (Cr), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) in susceptible population in Shenzhen.

Methods The concentration of Cr, As, Cd, Hg and Pb in blood and urine of susceptible population, including venous blood and urine of parturient women, umbilical cord blood, venous blood and urine of school children at grade Ⅲ-Ⅴ, were detected by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine the environmental pollution of heavy metals in Shenzhen.

Results The concentration of Cr, As, Cd, Hg and Pb in maternal blood samples were 2.58, 1.57, 0.99, 1.66 and 18.52 μg/L respectively; and the concentration in cord blood samples were 1.63, 1.49, 0.03, 3.28 and 15.38 μg/L, respectively. According to the existing national standard, the concentration of Cd and Hg in 2.63% and 7.14% of maternal urine samples were exceeded the upper limits; the concentration of Pb in blood of 3 children, the concentration of As in urine of 1 children, and the concentration of Hg in urine of 12 children were exceeded the upper limits. The concentration of As, Cd and Hg in blood was correlated with those in urine (P < 0.05).

Conclusions There was a great individual variation on the concentrations of heavy metal in biological samples. The exposure of heavy metals in susceptible population in Shenzhen was lower than that in other countries and areas, but the pollution of Pb, As, Hg and Cd should be taken into account.