Introduction

Heavy metals are toxic to human health

Most common heavy metals are lead(Pb),
mercury(Hg), cadmium(Cd) and arsenic(As)
Indoor concentration of heavy metals is generally less
than their outdoor concentration
They are mainly produced by industrial activities, and
deposit slowly in the surrounding water and soil
Properties of heavy metals
They occur near the bottom of the periodic table
Have high densities
Toxic in nature
Nondegradable

Note: Arsenic is not actually a metal but is a semimetal

i.e. its properties are intermediate between those of
metals and nonmetals.
Transport phenomenon
Water
Food
Air
Adsorption or absorption onto various materials

Example: Over half of the heavy metal input into Great

Lakes is due to deposition from air.
Toxicity of heavy metals
Mercury is highly toxic in vapor form but
lead,cadmium and arsenic are more toxic in their
cationic form
Toxicity arises from strong affinity of the heavy
metal cations for sulfur
Medicinal treatment for heavy metal poisoning is
done by chelation therapy by administering
compounds known as chelates
Example : British Anti-Lewisite(BAL), ethylene
diamine tetra acetic acid(EDTA).
Toxicity of trace heavy metals
TWA by Carcinogen
Route of
Metal Toxicity Effect ACGIH (suspected by
Entry
(mg / m³) NIOSH)

Irritation of respiratory
Inhalation system, Liver and
Arsenic and Kidney damage, Loss of 0.20 Yes
ingestion appetite, nausea and
vomiting etc
Inhalation Lung, liver and kidney
Cadmium and damage; Irritation of 0.05 Yes
ingestion respiratory system

Inhalation,
ingestion, Lung damage and
Chromium and Irritation or respiratory 0.5 Yes
absorption system
through skin
Toxicity of trace heavy metals
Metal Route of entry Toxicity Effect (mg / m³) Carcinogen

Irritation of
Inhalation,ingestion respiratory 0.05
Mercury and absorption system; lung, liver Yes
through skin and kidney (vapor)
damage

Lung and liver

Inhalation and damage; loss of
Lead 0.15 No
ingestion appetite, nausea
etc

Lung, liver and

Nickel Inhalation 1.00 Yes
kidney damage
Mercury
Most volatile of all metals
Highly toxic in vapor form
Liquid mercury itself is not highly toxic, and most of that
ingested is excreted
Sources of Mercury
Elemental mercury is employed in many applications due
to its unusual property of being a liquid that conducts
electricity
Used in electrical switches, fluorescent light bulbs and
mercury lamps
Emission of mercury vapor from large industrial operations
Unregulated burning of coal and fuel oil
Incineration of municipal wastes
Emissions from mercury containing products :batteries,
thermometers, etc.
Mercury amalgams: dental fillings
Health effects
Skin burns
Irritation of nose and skin
Rashes
Excessive perspiration
Damage to the kidneys
Damage to vision
Minamata disease
Dysfunctions of the central nervous system
Loss of hearing and muscle coordination
Severe brain damage
Death
Lead
Has a very low melting point of 327 degrees C
Used as a structural metal in ancient times and for
weather proofing buildings
Romans used it in water ducts and in cooking vessels
Analysis of ice-core samples from Greenland indicate
that atmospheric lead concentration reached a peak in
roman times that was not equaled again until the
renaissance
Sources of lead
Commonly used in the building industry for
roofing and flashing and for soundproofing
Used in pipes
When combined with tin, it forms solder,
used in electronics and in other applications
to make connections between solid metals
Lead is also used in ammunition
Note: Lead shots have been banned in
United States, Canada, Netherlands, Norway
and Denmark
 Lead is used in batteries and sinkers in
fishing
Sources
Used in paints
Lead chromate is the yellow pigment used in
paints usually applied to school buses. Lead is
also used in corrosion-resistant paints and has a
bright red color
Used in ceramics and dishware
The leaching of lead from glazed ceramics used to
prepare food is a major source of dietary lead,
especially in Mexico
In the past, lead salts were used as coloring agents
in various foods
Lead is used in some types of PVC mini-blinds
Health effects
At high levels, inorganic lead is a general metabolic
poison
Lead poisoning effects the neurological and reproductive
systems, example: downfall of roman empire
Lead breaks the blood-brain barrier and interferes with the
normal development of brain in infants
Health effects(contd.)
Lead is observed to lower IQ levels in children
Lead is transferred postnatally from the mother in her
breast milk
At elevated levels, lead poisoning would eventually result
in death
Facts about lead poisoning
The human groups most at risk of lead poisoning are
fetuses and children under the age of seven
Chronic lead poisoning from wine and other sources is
one of the factors in the downfall of the roman empire
Episodes of lead poisoning were recorded through the
middle ages and even until recent times
A recent study in Mexico indicated that pregnant
women can decrease the lead levels in their blood and
presumably in the blood of their developing fetus by
taking calcium supplements.
Cadmium
Cadmium lies in the same subgroup of the periodic
table as zinc and mercury, but is more similar to zinc
Coal burning is the main source of environmental
cadmium
Incineration of wastes containing cadmium is an
important source of the metal in the environment
Cadmium is most toxic in its ionic form unlike
mercury
Note: Mercury is most toxic in vapor form and lead,
cadmium and arsenic are most toxic in their ionic
forms.
Sources of Cadmium
Cadmium is used as an electrode in “nicad” batteries
Cadmium is used as a pigment in paints(yellow color)
It is also used in photovoltaic devices and in TV
screens
Cigarette smoke
Fertilizers and pesticides
Note: The greatest proportion of our exposure to
cadmium comes from our food supply- seafood, organ
meats, particularly kidneys, and also from potatoes,
rice, and other grains.
Health effects
Severe pain in joints
Bone diseases
Kidney problems
Its lifetime in the body is several years
Areas of greatest risk are Japan and central Europe
In very high levels it poses serious health problems
related to bones, liver and kidneys and can eventually
cause death.
Arsenic
Arsenic oxides were the common poisons used for murder
and suicide from roman times through to the middle ages
Arsenic compounds were used widely as pesticides before
the organic chemicals era
Arsenic is very much similar to phosphorous
Sources of Arsenic
Pesticides
Mining, smelting of gold, lead, copper and nickel
Production of iron and steel
Combustion of coal
Leachate from abandoned gold mines
Used as a wood preservative
Herbicides
Tobacco smoke
Wallpaper paste and pigments in wallpaper
Health effects
Birth defects
Carcinogen:
Lung cancer results from the inhalation of arsenic
and probably also from its ingestion. Skin and liver
cancer, and perhaps cancers of the bladder and
kidneys, arise from ingested arsenic
Gastrointestinal damage
Severe vomiting
Diarrhea
Death
Recent studies on arsenic exposure
Arsenic emitted from a copper-smelting plant in
Bulgaria has been shown recently to have produced
a three-fold increase in birth defects in new born
children in that area
Most daily exposure of arsenic by north American
adults is due to food intake, especially of meat and
seafood
Under humid conditions of molds in wallpaper
paste and arsenic pigments in wallpaper, instances
of mysterious illness and death have been reported
Recent Studies
Recent studies have shown that about 1% of
Americans consume drinking water that has arsenic
levels of 25 ppb or more, and in Utah and California
water supplies have been found to contain as much as
500 ppb
Scientists have estimated that there is a one-in-a-
thousand lifetime risk of dying from cancer induced
by normal background levels of arsenic ( this equals
the risk estimate due to tobacco smoke and radon
exposure ).
General sources of heavy metals in
residential houses
Infiltration from outside, along with the dust
carried on shoes and clothes
Indoor sources include old-lead and latex based
paints, domestic water supply, burning of wood,
and tobacco smoke
Pesticides and fungicides are major sources of
arsenic and mercury indoors
Methods for measurement of trace metals
Most common method of collecting particulate matter is
through filters
Identification and concentration of individual trace metals
like lead,cadmium, arsenic, mercury and chromium is
determined by
 Atomic absorption spectrophotometer
 X-ray fluorescence
 Atomic absorption spectrophotometry is a destructive
method and requires at least 1 to 2 ml of solution
 X-ray fluorescence is a nondestructive method
and works independent of the chemical state of the
sample.
 Control methods
Periodic vacuuming of the house can be effective in
removal of these pollutants
Replacement of wood-burning by an equivalent gas
or electrical appliance
Removal of old lead and mercury-based paints
The effective method for removal of mercury vapors
is by the use of packed bed of absorbents
Gold-coated denuder can also be used for the removal
of mercury from air
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