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Assessment of lead, cadmium, and mercury levels in the breast milk in Pakistani women

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Abstract

The concentrations of potentially toxic metals like lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) in healthy lactating mothers of Lahore city were estimated during 2020–2021 with the help of a flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). Seventy samples of breast milk were collected from two different age groups, namely, G-1 (25–30 years) and G-2 (31–40 years). The results showed that Cd contents were below the detection limit of the measuring instrument; however, the Pb and Hg contents were detected with great ease. The mean concentrations of Pb and Hg in the G-1 corresponding to the age between 25 and 30 years were observed to be 1.914 ± 0.493 μg/L and 10.432 ± 3.249 μg/L, respectively. For the G-2 with an age limit between 31 and 40 years, the concentrations of Pb and Hg were estimated to be 2.045 ± 0.502 μg/L and 11.527 ± 3.231 μg/L, respectively. The T-test analysis of concentrations of these toxic metals indicated a significant correlation between the content levels of Pb and Hg (p < 0.05). The observed values of toxic metals were significantly more frequent than those suggested by WHO (World Health Organization). An increase in the concentrations of Pb and Hg is directly associated with the location of the target population. As a result, it is turned out that the majority of the lactating woman with significantly high levels of Pb and Hg belongs to industrial areas of Lahore. To avoid such conditions, residential areas must be at larger distances, in addition, to strictly abiding by the environmental policies of the government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Naveed Ahmad, Abbas Muhammad, Ramna Zafar & Usama Afzal

  2. School of Microelectronics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Usama Afzal

  3. Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21551, Saudi Arabia

    Muhammad Aslam

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  1. Naveed Ahmad
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  2. Abbas Muhammad
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  3. Ramna Zafar
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  4. Usama Afzal
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  5. Muhammad Aslam
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N. A., M. A., R. Z., U. A., and M. A. wrote the paper. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Usama Afzal.

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Ahmad, ., Muhammad, A., Zafar, R. et al. Assessment of lead, cadmium, and mercury levels in the breast milk in Pakistani women. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 85903–85909 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28517-6

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