Trace metals in scalp hair of Greek agricultural workers.

In order to determine "base-line" values of hair metal concentrations in unpolluted, non-industrial areas of Greece, a random sample of 144 agricultural workers (75 males and 69 females) was selected from the Civil Registry of communities of southwest Greece. All subjects were at least 50 years old and had lived in the same community for at least 10 years prior to the investigation. Bulk hair samples were collected and washed with non-ionic detergent and ultrasonic cleaning. Concentrations of six metals (Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn and Cu) were determined by flameless AAS after wet-digestion. Arithmetic means of concentrations of Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Zn and Cu were 0.31, 4.40, 0.85, 0.73, 182.50 and 10.48 micrograms g-1, respectively, for males, and 0.19, 3.84, 1.19, 0.73, 187.60 and 10.61 micrograms g-1 respectively, for females. Statistically significant (p less than 0.05) sex differences were observed for cadmium and nickel. High positive correlations were observed between lead, chromium and copper. High negative correlations were observed between cadmium and zinc. Factor analysis showed that lead, chromium and copper were associated with the first factor. The results are discussed and compared with those observed in other parts of the world.