Abstract
This study examined levels of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and arsenic (As) in blood, hair, and nails of 18 brick kiln workers from three brick kiln units located around a metropolitan city, Lahore, Pakistan. All the trace elements except Hg and As were detected in the studied matrices of Brick kiln workers. In general, brick kiln workers reflect the highest concentration of Pb, followed by Cd, Cr, and Cu. Of the pollutants analyzed, Pb has the highest mean (min–max) concentrations at 0.35 (0.09–0.65) in blood (μg/mL), 0.34 (0.14–0.71) in hairs (μg/g), and 0.44 (0.32–0.59) in nails (μg/g) of brick kiln workers. Following Pb, the trend was Cd 0.17 (0.10–0.24), Cu 0.11(0.03–0.27), and Cr 0.07 (0.04–0.08) in blood (μg/mL), followed by Cr 0.11(0.05–0.20), Cd 0.09 (0.03–0.13), and Cu 0.08 (0.04–0.16) in hairs (μg/g) and Cu 0.16 (0.05–0.36), Cd 0.13 (0.11–0.17), and Cr 0.10 (0.05–0.14) in nails (μg/g) respectively. Relatively higher concentrations of metals and other trace elements in blood depicts recent dietary exposure. The difference of trace elements except Pb was non-significant (P > 0.05) among studied matrices of workers as well as between Zigzag and traditional exhaust-based brick kilns. The concentrations of Pb, Cd and Cr in blood of brick kilns workers are higher than the values reported to cause health problems in human populations. It is concluded that chronic exposure to metals and other trace elements may pose some serious health risks to brick kiln workers which needs to be addressed immediately to avoid future worst-case scenarios.
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(Source: The World Air Quality Project, 2023)
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Acknowledgements
This research was carried out at the College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of the Punjab when Talha Saeed was a bachelor's student under the supervision of Dr. Naeem Akhtar Abbasi. The authors highly acknowledge the efforts of Mr Sajid Hassan, and Mr Ghulam Mustafa for their help in the research of trace elements.
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TS has contributed in sample collection and preparation of document for publication. NAA has designed the project and supervised the whole activities. Further he has contributed in editing, statistical analysis and finalizing the draft. MTZ has contributed in lab analysis and editing the manuscript. NF was mainly involved in editing the manuscript and referencing. KU was involved in sample collection, lab analysis and draft preparation. MFK was involved in statistical analysis, editing and data acquisition related to air quality index of the study area.
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Saeed, T., Abbasi, N.A., Zahid, M.T. et al. Toxicological profile and potential health concerns through metals and trace elements exposure in brick kiln workers from Lahore, Pakistan. Environ Geochem Health 46, 150 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01937-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01937-0