One strengthen of this study is the simultaneous determination
of five metal elements in urine and hair from children. The results
indicate that the body burden of Cd and Hg in a proportion (25–
50%) of our children population living near industrial/mining areas
might have an impact on health. Children are a particularly vulnerable
population with regard to developmental and neurotoxic
effects of metals and deserve special attention in biomonitoring
programs. By recognizing their special vulnerability, a step forward
is preventing potential environmental diseases in children by
diminishing their exposure to environmental pollutants since reference
limits for adults may not necessarily be protective for children.
Based on the potential accumulation of many metal
compounds in certain human tissues, including hair, hair washed
thoroughly to remove any residue may be used as a useful biological
matrix for assessing children exposure to metal compounds in
biomonitoring programs as an additional sample to blood or urine