Twenty-eight tidal creeks were sampled along the South Carolina coast in the summer of 1995 to determine the levels of sediment trace metal contamination associated with different types and varying levels of human development in their watersheds. The particle size and total organic carbon (TOC) content of creek sediments in developed watersheds (i.e., industrial, urban, and suburban) were simil...

Trace metals are essential for health but toxic when present in excess. The maintenance of trace metals at physiologic levels reflects both import and export by cells and absorption and excretion by organs. The mechanism by which this maintenance is achieved in vertebrate organisms is incompletely understood. To explore this, we chose zebrafish as our model organism, as they are amenable to bot...

Zhangjiangkou Mangrove National Nature Reserve is a subtropical wetland ecosystem in southeast coast of China, which is of dense population and rapid development. The concentrations, sources, and pollution assessment of trace metals (Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, Zn, As, and Hg) in surface sediment from 29 sites and the biota specimen were investigated for better ecological risk assessment and environmental ...

The effect of high or low levels of trace metals in human tissues has been studied widely. There have been detectable significant variations in the concentrations of trace metals in normal and cancerous tissues suggesting that these variations could be a causative factor to various cancers. Even though essential trace metals play an important role such as stabilizers, enzyme cofactors, elements...

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to measure the levels of trace heavy metals in human urine and sweat, to compare the performance of ICP-MS using three sample processing methods, namely direct dilution, wet digestion, and microwave digestion. The results showed that the wet digestion ICP-MS method has the highest accuracy (relative standard deviation ≤10%) and is m...

Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry in sweat samples obtained by the arm-bag technique from 48 healthy adult subjects (33 a” , 15 ) during sauna bathing (15 mm at 93 #{176}C, dry heat). The men sweated more profusely than the women (volume, in milliliters, of sweat collected: mean, SD, and range: 23 ± 12 (355) and 7 ± 3 (2-13), respectively. The concentrations, in...

Progress in understanding the role of trace metals in biology has been largely dependent on the development of sensitive, accurate and precise analytical methods. Atomic spectroscopic techniques, particularly atomic absorption, have made the greatest contribution. Key to the success of such analytical techniques has been the simplification of sample processing so that contamination is minimized...

Sequential extraction procedures (SEPs) are commonly used to determine speciation of trace metals in soils and sediments. However, the non-selectivity of reagents for targeted phases has remained a lingering concern. Furthermore, potentially reactive phases such as phyllosilicate clay minerals often contain trace metals in structural sites, and their reactivity has not been quantified. Accordin...

A systematic approach was used to quantify the metals present in particulate matter emissions associated with on-road motor vehicles. Consistent sampling and chemical analysis techniques were used to determine the chemical composition of particulate matter less than 10 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10*) and particulate matter less than 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5), including a...

The suitability of two common and ubiquitously distributed and exotic ornamental plant species in Nigeria-Delonix regia and Casuarina equisetifolia as biomonitors and as effective bioaccumulators of atmospheric trace metals (Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu) has been evaluated. Bark and leaf samples from these plant species were collected in June and July 2006 at five locations in Benin City. Four of the samp...