Onuwa O. Peter, Ishaq S. Eneji, Rufus Sha’Ato
Department of Chemistry and Centre for Agrochemical Technology, University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Nigeria.
DOI: 10.4236/ajac.2012.311102   PDF    HTML     12,209 Downloads   23,803 Views   Citations

Abstract

Hair samples of individual were analysed for heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pb and As) across gender and various occupational distributions by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometric technique (AAS). The results of replicate analysis shows the following mean concentrations (mg/kg): Cd = 27.8 ± 8.0, Cr = 2.70 ± 0.7, Pb = 73.8 ± 42.3 and As = 222 ± 34.1. The coefficients of variation for the total distribution is; Cd = 28%, Cr = 26%, Pb = 57% and As = 15%. The distribution of the metals follows the series in decreasing order of As ＞ Pb ＞ Cd ＞ Cr, while their coefficients of variation is in the order of Pb ＞ Cd ＞Cr ＞ As. The result shows the presence of all the metals in relatively large amounts with As having the highest concentration between the two genders. 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.

Keywords

Heavy Metals; Human Scalp Hair; AAS; Concentration

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Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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