POPULATION EXPOSED TO NICKEL IN THE AIR AND BIOMONITORING

The aim of the research was to determine the degree to which nickel, as a cancerogenic element, is present in the ambiance air of Niš and Niška Banja, to determine what amount of it is inhaled by professionally non-exposed population through the respiratory system and to estimate health risk among smokers and non-smokers. The research was done at the Institute for Health protection in Niš in the period from 1995 to 2000. The examined material included 384 samples of air sediment, 58 samples of tobacco and tobacco derivatives and 227 blood samples of professionally non-exposed population. The presence of nickel in the airsediment of Niš (28,83 + 74,59 mg/m/day) and Niška Banja (20,77 + 41,88 mg/m/day) is evident at all the measuring points during the whole examination period; this represents a health risk for the population living in the area since it is a cancerogenic element. Comparison of the heating and non-heating seasons reveals that there is no statistically important difference regarding nickel content in the air-sediment. The average nickel introduction by inhalation amounts to 0,011 g per day and it is lower with respect to the introduction of this metal among the general population in cities of the developed industrial countries. The presence of nickel in tobacco (4,01 + 1,02 mg/kg) and cigarettes (3,28 + 0,71 mg/kg) is high regardless of the sort and origin of tobacco. The nickel content in people's blood is 0,108 + 0,141 gN/1 and it does not considerably depend upon gender and age. People who live in towns and smoke cigarettes (or are passive smokers) introduce more nickel into their organism than the country people and smokers but this difference is not statistically important