Epidemiologic Study Conducted in Populations Living Around Non-Ferrous Smelters, Volume 2

摘要

The research was initiated to study heavy metal levels in environmental media and biological specimens in the vicinity of nonferrous smelters located in the continental United States. Previous studies at other smelters indicated that there was sometimes a relationship between both environmental and biological heavy metal levels and the proximity to the smelter. The validity of these relationships was subject to some dispute because there was not uniform concordance at all sites, observations were often limited to younger age groups, and nonsystematic environmental sampling was frequently used. The present study was designed to resolve some of these problems. Information was sought on the degree of contamination about certain smelters: associations between heavy metal concentrations in the environment or in human subjects and distance from the smelter were determined. Other potential sources of heavy metals were also investigated. Correlations between environmental concentrations and concentrations in human subjects across age groups were also calculated.