A total of 450 schools in Elche participated in a pioneering project in Spain, developed by the Generalitat Valenciana, to ascertain the incidence of exposure to metals such as mercury, lead, manganese, health of children.
Studies on mercury, lead and manganese indicate that exposure to them can be the source of several diseases, such as attention deficit, decreased retention capacity and memory, motor deficits or alterations in the growth and development, particularly in pediatric populations.
The Higher School of Public Health Research (CSISP) under the Department of Health, made this work, called Environmental Exposure Biomarkers in collaboration with the Institute of Bioengineering, University Miguel Hernández (UMH) of Elche.
The program, whose final results will be announced later this year, will be extended to other areas of the Comunitat Valenciana to get the full regional map, which is expected to study in 500 children.
To work samples were obtained through the multi-element chemical analysis of hair, with high sensitivity techniques.
In total we have analyzed the existence of 29 elements, both nutritionally valuable minerals and pollutants, most notably arsenic or heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, chromium, toxic, or nickel, related to allergies.
origin sources of these metals may be different from the consumption of fish or milk to mining or industrial environment. We have also studied substances needed in the diet, such as iron or zinc.
Chief Environmental Health of the Department of Health, José Vicente Martí, explained that the main objective of this work is to promote 'a program that would enable exposure school daily to these metals' and the health of the population connected to the environment.
The study coordinator, Professor of the Institute of Bioengineering at the UMH, Eugenio Vilanova, has indicated that the project has been possible to establish the distribution curves of these elements in the school population, particularly in children aged 3 and 12 years.
The relationship between the level of exposure to metals and damage to health depends on variables that determine the concentrations of pollutants in each person, such as age, sex, geographic location or lifestyle.
Each particular item has toxicological own and not all are harmful.
'Moreover, the animal body depends on and needs of specific quantities of certain minerals for its proper functioning, which are also the subject of this study of biomarkers in hair,' said Vilanova.
However, prolonged exposure to certain metals such as lead can cause irreversible changes in brain architecture and cognitive functions.
'It is shown that in young children, chronic lead poisoning may cause disturbances with aggressive behavior and developmental regression, "according to the expert.
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