Cadmium in urine of children and adults from industrial areas.

Various human activities result in the release of significant quantity of cadmium to the environment. The study population included adults (230) and children (100) residing near the tobacco plant and a control group, unexposed to elevated cadmium concentrations, living in unpolluted area in the same city. Biomonitoring methods were used to assess the effects of contaminated air on the health of the public (urine samples). Ambient air samples were collected near the cadmium-related plant and in unpolluted area during the last ten years. Values of cadmium concentrations in urine found in polluted area were in range of 0.05-0.42 microg/g creatinine for children and 0.15-1.96 microg/g creatinine for adults. The results indicated statistical significant age-dependent differences in urine cadmium concentration between polluted and unpolluted area for adults. Boys and men had significantly higher urine cadmium levels than girls and women, but in children there were no significant gender-dependent differences in cadmium excretion found out. In conclusion, the results from the present study indicate that cadmium urine concentration in polluted area are very high, particularly in children.

The level of nickel in smoker's blood and urine.

General population is exposed to nickel from various sources. Smoking presents a significant form of exposure. The research was conducted in period 2000--2003 in Institute of Public Health in Nis. The samples of tobacco and cigarettes (127 samples) were both domestic and imported, and samples of biological material (123 blood samples and 147 urine samples) were taken from occupationally unexposed persons (smokers and non-smokers). The analyses were performed by electrothermal atomization technique, by Perkin Elmer AAS M-1100. The results obtained, revealed a high content of nickel in cigarettes (2.32-4.20 mg/kg) and in tobacco (2.20-4.91 mg/kg) regardless of the kind and the origin of tobacco. Nickel content in the blood of smokers (0.01-0.42 microg/l, median 0.07 microg/l) was higher than in the blood of non-smokers (0.01-0.26 microg/l, median 0.06 microg/l) although this difference was not statistically significant (p>0.05). In the urine of smokers (<0.01-8.20 microg/l, median 1.20 microg/l) there was a significantly higher concentration of nickel than in the urine of non-smokers (<0.01-4.60 microg/l, median 0.50 microg/l), p<0.05. The exposure of smokers to nickel through tobacco smoke was high regardless of the kind and the origin of tobacco and cigarettes. The content of nickel in tissue fluids established by biomonitoring shows that smokers can be far more exposed to this carcinogenic substance than non-smokers and that health risks for smokers are higher in this context.