TY  - JOUR
T1  - Study of Heavy Metal Levels in Nails and Hairs among Vegetable Farmers in Malaysia
AU - Saat, N.Z.M. AU - Hamid, Z.A. AU - Ghazali, A.R. AU - Chow, S.Y. AU - Lubis, S.H. AU - Mohamed, N. AU - Ishak, I. AU - Othman, H. 
JO  - Research Journal of Applied Sciences
VL  - 8
IS  - 9
SP  - 449
EP  - 455
PY  - 2013
DA  - 2001/08/19
SN  - 1815-932x
DO  - rjasci.2013.449.455
UR  - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=rjasci.2013.449.455
KW  - fingernails
KW  -toenails
KW  -fertilizers
KW  -pesticides
KW  -Heavy metals
KW  -hairs
AB  - The use of the pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agricultural 
  sector releases plenty types of heavy metals to environment and brings adverse 
  effects to human health. Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni) 
  and Cobalt (Co) are toxic heavy metals to harm human health. Presence of keratin 
  in hairs and nails allows the accumulation of metals elements in longer period. 
  Thus, hairs and nails are suitable to be used as biological marker in the study 
  of human exposure to heavy metal elements. The purpose of this study was to 
  determine As, Cd, Pb, Ni and Co levels in hairs, fingernails and toenails of 
  vegetable farmers. There were 90 Bangladesh farmers participated in this research 
  by using universal sampling. Questionnaires have been carried out to collect 
  the demographic data, working periods of the farmers and blood pressure. As, 
  Cd, Pb, Ni and Co levels were analyzed by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass 
  Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Result showed that there was significant difference of 
  As, Cd, Pb and Ni levels among hairs, fingernails and toenails, p<0.05. The 
  levels of As (90.56&plusmn;10.19 &#956;g L<SUP>-1</SUP>) and Cd (34.57&plusmn;3.44 
  &#956;g L<SUP>-1</SUP>) in toenails were found to be highest whereas the levels 
  of Pb (74.73&plusmn;7.93 &#956;g L<SUP>-1</SUP>) and Ni (694.12&plusmn;19.70 
  &#956;g L<SUP>-1</SUP>) in fingernails were found to be highest with the mean 
  level. ANOVA test showed that Co levels in toenails were significantly higher 
  in farmers with hypertension (22.51&plusmn;3.61 &#956;g L<SUP>-1</SUP>). Kruskal-Wallis 
  test showed that As (H = 10.64, p&lt;0.05) and Cd (H = 7.34, p&lt;0.05) levels 
  in toenails were significantly higher in farmers with hypertension. There was 
  a significant weak negative relationship among As (r = -0.44, p&lt;0.05), Cd 
  (r = -0.43, p&lt;0.05), Pb (r = 0.32, p&lt;0.05) and Ni (r = -0.31, p&lt;0.05) 
  in fingernails together with Pb (r = -0.29, p&lt;0.05) levels in toenails with 
  working periods of farmers shown by Spearman correlation test. Almost all farmers 
  from different blood pressure groups shower after handling pesticides and fertilizers 
  significantly (p&lt;0.05). The 66 famers have good knowledge from different 
  working periods and there was a significant different between individual&#146;s 
  knowledge and working periods (p&lt;0.05). As a conclusion, As, Cd, Pb, Ni, 
  Co levels among vegetable farmers were lower than earlier studies and remained 
  at a safety level.
ER  -