Relationship of lead and cadmium to essential elements in hair, teeth, and nails of environmentally exposed people

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the environmental exposure to Pb and Cd during 1990-1997 of inhabitants of Katowice District, which is an area of high environmental exposure to lead and cadmium, as well as exposure to Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, Ni, Cr, Ca, Na, and K, on the basis of concentrations in hair, teeth, and nails. This investigation was to explain if accumulation of Pb and Cd can affect the concentration of such essential metals as Fe, Zn, Cu, and Ca. Inhabitants of the Beskid area constituted a control group. Analysis of the aforementioned elements was carried out on 624 hair samples, 785-tooth- samples, and 338 nail samples taking into consideration sex, age (30 years), and type of teeth (incisor, canine, molar, premolar). Concentrations of elements in the media investigated were determined using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results were calculated using the Statistica program. The major statistical analysis focuses on determining analysis of variance by MANOVA/ANOVA, Rao R (P