I. Baranowska et al., THE ANALYSIS OF LEAD, CADMIUM, ZINC, COPPER AND NICKEL CONTENT IN HUMAN BONES FROM THE UPPER SILESIAN INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT, Science of the total environment, 159(2-3), 1995, pp. 155-162
The concentration of lead, cadmium, zinc, copper and nickel in autopsy
samples of bones from adults living in the Upper Silesian industrial
district (Poland) - an ecological disaster region - was determined by
atomic absorption spectrometry (flame and flameless GF AAS). Lead conc
entrations ranged from 20 mug/g to 200 mug/g bone wet weight, cadmium
from 0.4 mug/g to 1.5 mug/g bone wet weight. About one-fourth of the b
ones examined from Silesia, contained lead in the range from 100 mug/g
to 200 mug/g. The were no significant differences in zinc, copper and
nickel concentration between the control groups. The samples were min
eralized in a microwave digestion system. To avoid anomalous results c
aused by the influence of the matrix Ca3 (PO4)2 - the procedure of lea
d determination was carried out at a temperature of 2000-degrees-C, th
e cadmium determination at a temperature of about 1200-degrees-C.