A Survey on the Accumulation of Trace Metals in Local Fishermen Hair from the Northern Persian Gulf

The concentrations of trace metals in hair of fishermen from the Persian Gulf region were assessed to detect the relationships between element levels in hair and potential factors influencing these relationships. The hair of 19 fishermen were sampled from six stations in the Persian Gulf (Abadan, Deylam, Bushehr- Nirogah, Dayyer, Lengeh and Bandar Abbas in Khuzestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan provinces) and analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry inductively (ICP-MS) and Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectrometer to detect the trace metals and mercury levels, respectively. In this study we did not find significant correlation between fish diet and hair element levels, except for mercury (r=0.74, P=0.01). Our results demonstrated that the average concentrations of Cr, As and V in different stations were almost comparable, while the accumulation of Cu, Zn, Pb and Co in hair samples from Lengeh were much higher than those of other regions. Statistical analysis demonstrated that a positivly strong significant correlation (p<0.05) existed between V, Cr, Co, Cu and Zn concentrations in the human hair, which might have been originated from similar sources. The accumulation levels of Cd, Cu and Cr in our results were much lower than the corresponding accepted levels. The hair samples contained arsenic in high concentrations, as against arsenic level in normal healthy hair. Ninty percent of detected Pb levels were below 110 μg g-1 as dangerous level. Among the detected elements in hair, Pb, Ni and As could be used as marker of environmental exposure.