Authors : N.Z.M. Saat, B. Mohandas, A.R. Ghazali, I. Ishak, S.H. Lubis, N. Mohamed, A. Hamid, Z.A. Hamid and H. Othman
Abstract: Heavy metals such as Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd) and Plumbum (Pb) in fertilizers and pesticides could cause health problems to human. The sources of exposure to these heavy metals can be ingestion, food and the use of pesticides and fertilizers in agricultural. A study was conducted in Kelantan among farmers. The purpose of this study was to determine levels of heavy metals according to gender, age group, blood pressure, smoking habits and period of time exposure to pesticide (years). There were 113 farmers participated in this study. The samples of hair and nails were collected from farmers. The levels of heavy metals such as As, Cd and Pb were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results, showed that there was mean differences of Pb levels between age groups in hair samples (p<0.05). Furthermore, using the pearson correlation, the results indicated that there was significant relationship between working experience and the level of Pb (r = -0.020, p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference of Cd, Pb, As between gender, level of blood pressure (high, normal and low), smoking habit and residences in nails and hair sample. In conclusion, the levels of heavy metals was higher in nails compare to hair samples. The heavy metals was higher among male, older age group, hypertension and non-smoker.
N.Z.M. Saat, B. Mohandas, A.R. Ghazali, I. Ishak, S.H. Lubis, N. Mohamed, A. Hamid, Z.A. Hamid and H. Othman, 2013. Study of Heavy Metals in Hair and Nails of among Farmers in Kelantan, Malaysia. Research Journal of Applied Sciences, 8: 225-229.