NON-OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE OF MALAY WOMEN IN KUALA-LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, TO CADMIUM AND LEAD

Peripheral blood and 24-h total food duplicate samples were obtained f rom 49 adult Malay women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July, 1995. Sam ples of boiled and uncooked (raw) rice were also collected from the su bjects, The blood samples, homogenates of each food duplicates and ric e samples (both cooked and raw) were digested by heating in the presen ce of mineral acids, and the digests were subjected to analysis for ca dmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) with a system composed of a fully automated l iquid sampler, a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer and a data processor The geometric mean metal concentrations in blood were 0.71 ng Cd per ml and 45.6 ng Pb per ml, and the dietary metal intakes were 7.31 mu g Cd per day and 10.1 mu g Pb per day, The metal intake via rice accounted for 53% and 13% of total dietary intake of cadmium and lead, respectively, When the absorption from the air and foods was compared, the cadmium burden came almost exclusively from foods, wher eas the lead burden came both from air (44%) and foods (56%).