Levels and distribution of toxic and essentiol metals in biological samples collected in Okayama prefecture

This paper deals with the levels and distribution of manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), marcury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and other trace metals in 3 kinds of biological samples relevant to the food chain. Eightly-eight human whole blood samples were taken from 20-59 year old normal adult subjects (57 males and 31 females) in Okayama Prefecture, and the heavy metal concentrations were mesured with a flame or flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The order by level of heavy metals in the whole blood was Fe, Mg, Ca, Zn, Cu, Pb, Mn and Cd. The analytical values of each metal approximated a log-normal distribution. The levels of Fe, Mg and Zn were higher in males than in females, while that of Cu was higher in females high correlation coefficients were obtained between Pd-Cd, Pb-Cd, Cd-Mn and Cd-Fe. The levels of Fe and Zn in males had a negative correlation with thier age. On the other hand, that of Ca and Mg in females had a positive correlation. The heavy metal levels in the fethers of crows were examined as a biological index of heavy metal contamination. The order of heavy metals in feathers was: Zn, Fe, Mn, Pb, Hg and Cd. The concentrations of Pb and Mn were from 3 to 10 times higher in the feathers of crows than in human hair. The concentraiton levels of Cd and Cu were higher in the southern part than in the northern part of Okayama Prefecture. There were significant regional differences in the levels of Pb, Cd and Cu. The order of heavy metals in oyster was Zn, Cu, Mn, As, Ni, Cd, Pb, Se and Hg. The concentration of Zn and Cu had a significant correlation with the size of the oyster. The order of biological concentration was; Zn (22.3×10), Se, Cu, Mn, As, Ni and Pb (7.75×10(3)-0.22×10(3)