Blood chromium levels of children working in gem-polishing industries in India.

The gem-polishing industry in Jaipur, India employs a substantial proportion of children. The process of polishing may result in exposure to chromium in working children. Thus, this study aims to find out the levels of chromium in these working children and the associated factors. Blood samples were analysed for chromium using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The mean blood chromium levels were 2.51 ± 1.11 mg/100 ml and 2.33 ± 1.10 mg/100 ml in working and school children, respectively, which is well within the permissible levels. However, the practice of employing children should be totally curbed.

Chromium exposure study in chemical based industry.

176 chromium-exposed and 30 control subjects were selected for this study. Blood samples (3 ml) were collected for the estimation of chromium. The data on chromium concentration indicated a significant higher level of chromium in the blood of the exposed workers as compared to the control. There was no significant correlation between the mean blood and environmental chromium level. This study suggests that exposure to chromium may have some effect on the health of workers, even though the dose response relationship could not be established between blood chromium and environmental chromium levels. This study suggests that exposure to chromium may have some effect on the health of workers, even though the dose response relationship could not be established between blood chromium and environmental chromium levels. Study also indicates that the environmental levels to Cr are well below the permissible levels at all the sites of the industry at the time of survey even though the blood Cr levels were observed high in 14.8% of workers and some of them were having Cr related morbidity. Therefore, preventive and engineering control measures are suggested to minimize the chromium exposure in the chromium based industry located in Gorwa industrial estate at Baroda, Gujarat. About three months period was taken to complete this study.

Semen quality of industrial workers occupationally exposed to chromium.

A total of sixty-one subjects occupationally exposed to chromium in an industry which manufactures chromium sulphate and fifteen control subjects from a nearby industry which does not manufacture any chromium related compounds were studied. The history of each subject was recorded on pre-designed form through interview and a routine medical examination was carried out. Blood samples (5-6 ml) were collected for the estimation of chromium and semen samples were collected for semen analysis and the determination of copper and zinc levels in the seminal plasma. Clinical examination revealed nasal perforation in 10 subjects (out of 61) in the exposed group as compared to none in the control group. A significantly higher level of chromium was observed in the blood of the exposed workers as compared to the control. The concentration of zinc in seminal plasma was lower while the level of copper was higher in the exposed group as compared to the control. However, these changes were not statistically significant. Statistically significant higher numbers of morphologically abnormal sperms were noticed in the exposed group with respect to the control. Further analysis of the data indicated that about 53% of the exposed subjects showed less than 30% normal forms as compared to 10% in control subjects. However, no significant alterations in semen volume, liquefaction time, mean pH value, sperm viability, concentration or motility, were noticed between chromium exposed and unexposed workers. The data also indicates that exposure to chromium has some effect on human sperm as a significant positive correlation (r=0.301) was observed between percentages of abnormal sperm morphology and blood chromium levels (p=0.016) after pooling all the data of the control and exposure groups.

Dustiness, silicosis & tuberculosis in small scale pottery workers.

Studies were carried out in eight small scale potteries to find out the airborne dust concentrations and the prevalence of dust related diseases like silicosis and tuberculosis in 292 workers. Chest radiography revealed that 44 (15.1%) pottery workers were suffering from silicosis and an equal number showed radiological evidence of tuberculosis. The environmental study showed that the concentrations of airborne dust, containing free silica, in the work environment of all departments (except packing department) of potteries were higher than threshold limit values (TLVs). The prevalence of silicosis and tuberculosis correlated with the levels of airborne dust. The prevalence of tuberculosis increased with radiological severity of silicosis. Dust control measures combined with pre-employment and periodical medical examinations are recommended for the control of silicosis and tuberculosis in the pottery industry.

Study of lead exposure to children residing near a lead-zinc mine.

This lead exposure study was conducted in a total of 452 school children in the age group of 9-14 years. Two hundred and ninety-eight exposed children came from the villages situated within a 2.5 km radius of the lead-zinc mine whereas the comparative group children were selected from the villages at least 10 km away from mine. Environmental monitoring study suggested that lead levels in air and water samples near the mining areas were within the Central Pollution Control Board prescribed standards. Lead levels in about 80% of the children were less than 10 µg/dl. Medical examination of all children did not show any signs related to lead toxicity but central nervous system-related symptoms, as reported by the subjects during medical examination, were found to be higher in the exposed group when compared with the comparative group. The values of physical growth parameters of the exposed group were comparable with that of the comparative group for both girls and boys. Hence, the physical growth of children was found to be unaffected by the observed level of lead exposure. To safeguard the health of the children residing near the mining area, various preventive and control measures were suggested.