CONCENTRATION OF HEAVY METALS IN CHILDREN'S HAIR FROM A MINING AREA IN CHINA

Lean River goes through Dexing copper mine in southeast of China. To assess the effect of mining on the health of the people in these regions, Levels of ten metals (As,Hg,Se,Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn, Mo) in the scalp hair of 197 children living along the Lean River were determined by ICP-MS/AFS. The results show: Except Mn and Co,average contents of all metals in children’s hair are normal compared with the standard issued by the Trace Element Research Council of China for Chinese. But coefficient of variation of most elements are great, CV of As, Se, Co, Cd and Zn all are between 50% to 100%, and CV of Mn and Pb are greater than 150%. And there are about 28.43% of lead in children’s hair exceed the standard. While the content of Zn in children’s hair shows polarization, 37.56% samples are higher than the standard range, while 38.58% samples are below the standard range. And there are obvious gender differences in Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, that the content of elements in girls hair are higher than in boy’s, gender differences of other elements are not obvious. According to the geological background, the higher level of cu, Pb, Zn, Mo, As and Cd in the children’s hair in downstream villages compared upstream villages reflected mining-induced pollution, while Hg, Mn was closely associated with the geological setting of the region.