Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Cadmium, mercury and lead in the blood of urban women in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, China, Ecuador and Morocco

  • Original papers
  • Published:
International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

Abstract

Objectives

The aim of the study was to make an international comparison of blood levels of cadmium (B-Cd), lead (B-Pb) and mercury (B-Hg) of women in seven European, and three non-European cities, and to identify determinants.

Materials and Methods

About 50 women (age: 46–62) from each city were recruited (totally 480) in 2006–2009. Interview and questionnaire data were obtained. Blood samples were analysed in one laboratory to avoid interlaboratory variation.

Results

Between the European cities, the B-Pb and B-Cd results vary little (range of geometric means: 13.5–27.0 μg/l and 0.25–0.65 μg/l, respectively); the variation of B-Hg was larger (0.40–1.38 μg/l). Between the non-European cities the results for B-Pb, B-Cd and B-Hg were 19.2–68.0, 0.39–0.99 and 1.01–2.73 μg/l, respectively. Smoking was a statistically significant determinant for B-Cd, while fish and shellfish intakes contributed to B-Hg and B-Pb, amalgam fillings also contributed to B-Hg.

Conclusions

The present results confirm the previous results from children; the exposure to lead and cadmium varies only little between different European cities suggesting that other factors than the living area are more important. The study also confirms the previous findings of higher cadmium and lead levels in some non-European cities. The geographical variation for mercury is significant.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Skerfving S, Vahter M, Schütz A, Gerhardsson L. Environmental health in the Baltic region — toxic metals. Scand J Work Environ Health 1999;25(Suppl 3):40–64.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Smolders R, Alimonti A, Cerna M, Den Hond E, Kristiansen J, Palkovicova L, et al. Availability and comparability of human biomonitoring data across Europe: A case-study on blood-lead levels. Sci Total Environ 2010;408:1437–1445.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Vahter M, Slorach S. Exposure monitoring of lead and cadmium. An international pilot study within the UNEP/WHO human exposure assessment location (HEAL) project. Technical report. WHO; 1991; Nairobi. p. 82.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hruba F, Stromberg U, Cerna M, Chen C, Harari F, Harari R, et al. Blood cadmium, mercury, and lead in children: An international comparison of cities in six European countries, and China, Ecuador, and Morocco. Environ Int 2012;41:29–34.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Stegmayr B, Lundberg V, Asplund K. The events registration and survey procedures in the Northern Sweden MONICA Project. Scand J Public Health 2003;31(Suppl 61):9–17.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Barany E, Bergdahl IA, Schütz A, Skerfving S, Oskarsson A. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for direct multi-element analysis of diluted human blood and serum. J Anal Atom Spectrom 1997;12:1005–1009.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Sandborgh-Englund G, Elinder CG, Langworth S, Schütz A, Ekstrand J. Mercury in biological fluids after amalgam removal. J Dent Res 1998;77:615–624.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. COPHES (Consortium to Perform Human Biomonitoring on a European Scale) [cited 2012 June 24]. Available from URL: http://www.eu-hbm.info/cophes.

  9. European Food Safety Authority. Scientific opinion: cadmium in food. EFSA J 2009;980:1–139.

    Google Scholar 

  10. European Food Safety Authority. Scientific opinion: Lead in food. EFSA J 2010;8(4):1570–1717.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Strömberg U, Lundh T, Skerfving S. Yearly measurements of blood lead in Swedish children since 1978: The declining trend continues in the petrol-lead-free period 1995–2007. Environ Res 2008;107:332–335.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Wennberg M, Lundh T, Bergdahl IA, Hallmans G, Jansson JH, Stegmayr B, et al. Time trends in burdens of cadmium, lead, and mercury in the population of northern Sweden. Environ Res 2006;100:330–338.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Feng X, Tang S, Shang L, Yan H, Sommar J, Lindqvist O. Total gaseous mercury in the athmosphere of Guiyang, PR China. Sci Tot Environ 2003;304:61–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Anticona C, Bergdahl IA, Lundh T, Alegre Y, San Sebastian M. Lead exposure in indigenous communities of the Amazon basin, Peru. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2011;215:59–63.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Barbosa FJ, Fillion M, Lemire M, Passos CJ, Rodrigues JL, Philibert A, et al. Elevated blood lead levels in a riverside population in the Brazilian Amazon. Environ Res 2009;109(5):594–599.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Bergkvist C, Kippler M, Hamadani JD, Grandér M, Tofail F, Berglund M, et al. Assessment of early-life lead exposure in rural Bangladesh. Environ Res 2010;110(7):718–724.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Berlin M, Zalups RK, Fowler BA. Mercury. In: Nordberg GF, Fowler BA, Nordberg M, Friberg LT, editors. Handbook on the toxicology of the metals. 3rd ed. New York: Academic Press, Elsevier; 2007. p. 675–729.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Hazards and Genetic Toxicology, Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Sosnowiec, Poland

    Natalia Pawlas

  2. Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Ulf Strömberg, Lina Löfmark, Thomas Lundh, Gerda Rentschler & Staffan Skerfving

  3. Division of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Bo Carlberg

  4. Department of General Hygiene, Charles University in Prague, Third Faculty of Medicine, Prague, Czech Republic

    Milena Cerna

  5. Institute for the Development of Production and Work Environment, Quito, Ecuador

    Florencia Harari & Raúl Harari

  6. Department of Environmental Sciences, Institut Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Milena Horvat, Darja Mazej & Janja Snoj Tratnik

  7. Department of Health Informatics and Biostatistics, Regional Authority of Public Health, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia

    Frantiska Hruba

  8. Department of Environmental Health, Regional Authority of Public Health, Banska Bystrica, Slovakia

    Kvetoslava Koppova

  9. Environmental and Population Health Monitoring, National Institute of Public Health, Prague, Czech Republic Headquarters

    Andrea Krskova & Vera Spevackova

  10. Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Mladen Krsnik & Josko Osredkar

  11. Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yu-Feng Li

  12. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

    Nils-Göran Lundström, Anneli Sundkvist & Ingvar A. Bergdahl

  13. Laboratory of Physiology, Pharmacology and Environmental Health, University of Fez, Fez Atlas, Morocco

    Badiaâ Lyoussi & Soumia Zizi

  14. Department of Hygiene, Wroclaw Medical University, Wrocław, Poland

    Iwona Markiewicz-Górka & Krystyna Pawlas

  15. Laboratory of Audiology and Noise, Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Sosnowiec, Poland

    Krystyna Pawlas

  16. Oikon Ltd, Zagreb, Croatia

    Zdravko Spiric & Draženka Vadla

  17. Institute of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, Kościelna 13, 41-200, Sosnowiec, Poland

    Natalia Pawlas

Authors
  1. Natalia Pawlas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ulf Strömberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bo Carlberg
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Milena Cerna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Florencia Harari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Raúl Harari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Milena Horvat
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Frantiska Hruba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Kvetoslava Koppova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Andrea Krskova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Mladen Krsnik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Yu-Feng Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Lina Löfmark
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Thomas Lundh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Nils-Göran Lundström
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Badiaâ Lyoussi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Iwona Markiewicz-Górka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. Darja Mazej
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Josko Osredkar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Krystyna Pawlas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Gerda Rentschler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Vera Spevackova
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  23. Zdravko Spiric
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  24. Anneli Sundkvist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  25. Janja Snoj Tratnik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  26. Draženka Vadla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  27. Soumia Zizi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  28. Staffan Skerfving
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  29. Ingvar A. Bergdahl
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalia Pawlas.

Additional information

Grants were supplied from the European Union (Sixth Framework Programme; PHIME; FOOD-CT-2006-016253) and long series of funding agencies in the participating countries. The paper reflects only the authors’ views; the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information.

About this article

Cite this article

Pawlas, N., Strömberg, U., Carlberg, B. et al. Cadmium, mercury and lead in the blood of urban women in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, China, Ecuador and Morocco. IJOMEH 26, 58–72 (2013). https://doi.org/10.2478/S13382-013-0071-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/S13382-013-0071-9

Key words

Search

Navigation