Abstract
Improper treating, sorting, storing, transporting, or disposing of wastes poses a potential risk to the health of humans and the environment. The workers of waste management plants are at risk of exposure to heavy metals and their toxic and hazardous effects through respiratory or cutaneous routes. Accordingly, concentrations of two heavy metals in the biological samples of workers of a municipal waste management (MSW) plant in Iraqi Kurdistan were measured in 139 persons who worked for at least 6 months. Blood and plasma samples were collected to measure lead and zinc concentrations, respectively. Their working units, occupational history, smoking habits, and the distance living from the landfill site were recorded in a predesigned questionnaire. A blood lead level (BLL) of less than 40 μg/dL was considered a safe cutoff. The lower limit of normal fasting plasma zinc was set at 70–120 μg/dL. The study showed that the mean age of the workers was 33.43, ranging from 16 to 67 years old, and they worked for the last 4.93 years. Further, 22.3% of the staff had previous experience in a job with suspected exposure to heavy metals. The mean BLL concentrations and the plasma zinc level were 31 μg/dl and 5.77 μg/dl, respectively. The study did not find a substantial difference in lead and zinc among workers with different characteristics. We did not find any predictor for lead and zinc concentrations in our sample. The study showed that the mean levels of lead and zinc were lower than the permitted ranges.
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Acknowledgments
The authors of the study would like to present their deep thanks to the Kwashe Waste Management and Recycling Centre for their kind cooperation. In addition, we would like to thank the College of Science-University of Zakho that allowed us to perform our measurement in their chemistry lab.
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The authors were the only financial supporters of the study.
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Abdulah, D.M., Al-Dosky, A.H.A. & Mohammed, A.H. Lead and zinc exposure in the blood of workers in municipal waste management. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 11147–11154 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07722-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07722-7