Multivariate statistical analysis of metal concentrations in teeth of residents of Silesian region, southern Poland

Concentrations of 11 metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Na, K, Ca, and Mg) were assayed in the teeth of two populations of the Silesian region. The first group (n = 83) comprised the residents of Katowice-Szopienice, a town located in the center of the Upper Silesian industrial region, in close proximity to a Pb plant, whereas the other was a group of residents of the agricultural community Strumień (n = 44). The concentrations of all the trace metals were found to be higher in the teeth of Katowice-Szopienice residents. The methods of cluster analysis distinguished two clusters of metals in the teeth: essential (Ca, Na, Mg, Zn, and K) and trace (Cd, Mn, Cr, Cu, Fe, and Pb) elements. Euclidean distances reflected the differences in concentrations between the two groups. The results obtained were analyzed using principal component analysis. Four principal factors accounted for 68.1% of the total variance for Katowice-Szopienice residents and for 80.1% for Strumień residents. The first factor showed high contributions of Cu and Cr, elements present in humans as a result of diet, and also Mn for Katowice-Szopienice residents because of environmental contamination. The second factor was characterized by large Zn and Cd fractions and, for Katowice-Szopienice residents, Pb and K as well. The diversified exposure of both populations was reflected by the differences in Euclidean distances and contribution of particular elements with respect of principal components.

Evaluation of intra- and interindividual variation of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene, a biomarker of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

The study was performed on 30, 8-year-old children living in an industrial town of the Upper Silesia region. Morning urine samples were collected on 6 consecutive days. Intraindividual variation of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations, calculated as a coefficient of variance (CV), ranged from 14 to 109% whereas inter-individual variation ranged from 69 to 109%. Three-way analysis of variance disclosed a significant effect of sex, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and day of examination on 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations not corrected for creatinine. The appropriate sample size for population studies and the minimum number of observations for the individual assessment of environmental exposure to PAHs calculated on the basis of inter- and intraindividual variability of 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations in urine amounted to 164 and 99, respectively. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene may be considered a good indicator of environmental exposure to PAHs at the group level.

The femur capitulum as a biomarker of contamination due to indicating lead content in the air by participation of the other metals

The occurrence of nine elements in the coxarthrosis human femoral capitula is described. The atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) method was used to determine Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Mn, Fe, Zn, Ni and Co concentrations in the three kinds of tissues: spongious and cortical bone and joint surface cartilage. Based on the Pb bone concentrations, an ecotoxicological Pb contamination risk for the industrial region can be predicted.