Brief communication: Choice of washing method of hair samples for trace element analysis in environmental studies

Determination of inseparable exogenous and endogenous levels of toxic trace elements such as lead in human scalp hair has been used to understand and assess population exposure to such elements. For any such analysis, washing of the hair samples to remove superficial contamination is the foremost re quirement. However, the use of such washing methods prior to elemental anal ysis removes minute quantities of trace elements from the hair strands. Thi s degree of loss is dependent on the washing method employed. In the presen t study, the element lead has been determined in human scalp hair after thr ee methods of hair washing. It is apparent that the nonionic detergent-acet one method is best suited for securing valid lead analysis results in human scalp hair. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.