DETERMINATION CADMIUM, LEAD AND ZINC IN HUMAN HAIR BY USING FLAME ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETRY (FAAS)

Abstract

The heavy metals mean serious hazard in environmental pollution. Some of them are vital for many organisms in a low concentration, however the others ought to be poisonous at low concentrations, too. This paper gives an example for the correlation of the attention in human hair and in the environment of different heavy metals. Human hair (n=50) Volunteers (35 males and 15 females) of different age groups between 1 to 57 years samples were collected in Al – Ajailat, Libya. Hair samples were analyzed for heavy metals (Cd, Pb and Zn) by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric technique (FAAS). The results showed that the samples concentrations ranged between 0.0001 and 0.3840 mg.kg−1 for cadmium, followed by zinc between 68.99 mg kg−1 and 225mg. kg−1while lead was between 0.632 mg kg−1 and 7.708mg. Kg−1. The results indicated that metal concentrations in male samples varied based on age, such that age group 33-43 years had the highest zinc concentration (206.2±11.6 mg/kg), and age group 1-10 years had the highest Cd (0.384±0.01 mg/kg) and Pb (1.929±0.05 mg/kg) concentrations. while, the cadmium and lead contents in children’s hair samples of both sexes was higher than compared to the values available in some countries. The difference between male and female concentration could be due to individual differences in exposure to heavy metal load as a result of habitual or environmental factors.