Plastics from household waste as a source of heavy metal pollution. An inventory study using INAA as the analytical technique.

An inventory study to the levels of cadmium in the plastic component of household waste was carried out utilizing INAA as the analytical technique. In a 2-h irradiation, 2-d decay, and 1-h measurement, protocol adequate sensitivities could be obtained for Cd, but also for a group of other metals: Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Sr, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Sn, Sb, Ba, and Hg. Red-, orange-, and yellow-colored plastics either contain Cd at high levels (over 1000 mg/kg) or have relatively low Cd concentrations (less than 50 mg/kg). High concentrations were also occasionally found for Sr, Se, Ba, Sb, and Hg. INAA appeared very well to be routinely usable for such analysis because of the absence of a destruction step, adequate sensitivity, high accuracy, and multielement results.

Trace-element concentrations in human autopsy tissue.

In this report on trace-element concentrations (As, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Zn) in human heart, liver, kidney, aorta, and rib obtained from 200 autopsied patients, we give special attention to sampling procedure, analysis technique, and various sources of error (autolysis, contamination with blood, and lack of sample homogeneity). We present the concentration data (averages, standard deviations, and ranges) obtained by neutron activation analysis, and we analyze the distribution of the data. The three types of distribution we distinguished are relevant to considerations of the importance of processes of storage of certain elements in specific organs.

Relationships between trace elements and atherosclerosis.

The possible relationship between trace element (Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Zn) concentrations in various human tissues (heart, liver, kidney, aorta, rib and head hair) and cardiovascular diseases was studied on the basis of indications in the literature that trace elements may be directly or indirectly involved in cardiovascular disease processes. The underlying theme was that (slightly) reduced, as well as (slightly) elevated, concentrations compared with optimum values could, in the long term, lead to atherosclerotic lesions. In this project the tissues were obtained by autopsy involving 200 individuals (hospitalised patients and victims of traffic accidents). The seriousness of cardiovascular disease was quantitatively expressed by the degree of atherosclerosis of the descending branch of the left coronary artery (LAD) and of the abdominal aorta, for which a special measurement method was developed. Correlations were evaluated by two different methods, i.e. by a comparison of patients with extremely high or extremely low degrees of atherosclerosis and by means of stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) analysis. Corrections were made for the influence of age. The element Cd was found to be positively, and the elements Cu, Co, Se and Zn negatively, correlated with the degree of atherosclerosis. The inclusion of risk factors (diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertension, obesity and smoking) did not improve the explained variance.