EPA-600/1-78-037C
July 1978
HUMAN SCALP HAIR: AN ENVIRONMENTAL
EXPOSURE INDEX FOR TRACE ELEMENTS
III. Seventeen Trace Elements in Birmingham, Alabama
and Charlotte, North Carolina (1972)
by
John P. Creason
Statistics and Data Management Office
Health Effects Research Laboratory
and
Thomas A. Hinners
Joseph E. Bumgarner
Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
HEALTH EFFECTS RESEARCH LABORATORY
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. 27711
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DISCLAIMER
This report has been reviewed by the Health Effects Research Laboratory,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and approved for publication. Mention
of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or
recommendation for use.
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FOREWORD
The many benefits of our modern, developing, industrial society
are accompanied by certain hazards. Careful assessment of the relative
risk of existing and new man-made environmental hazards is necessary
for the establishment of sound regulatory policy. These regulations
serve to enhance the quality of our environment in order to promote the
public health and welfare and the productive capacity of our Nation's
population.
The Health Effects Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park,
conducts a coordinated environmental health research program in toxicology,
epidemiology, and clinical studies using human volunteer subjects.
These studies address problems in air pollution, non-ionizing
radiation, environmental carcinogenesis and the toxicology of pesticides
as well as other chemical pollutants. The Laboratory participates in
the development and revision of air quality criteria documents on
pollutants for which national ambient air quality standards exist or
are proposed, provides the data for registration of new pesticides or
proposed suspension of those already in use, conducts research on
hazardous and toxic materials, and is primarily responsible for providing
the health basis for non-ionizing radiation standards. Direct support
to the regulatory function of the Agency is provided in the form of
expert testimony and preparation of affidavits as well as expert advice
to the Administrator to assure the adequacy of health care and surveillance
of persons having suffered imminent and substantial endangerment of
their health.
These data are provided for those researchers interested in developing
a reliable and easily collected index of environmental exposure to certain
trace elements, and as well, the data shed light on the influences of
personal covariates on the trace element content of hair. These data are
timely with regard to the current concerns regarding low-level environmental
exposure to trace elements and their uptake by exposed populations.
F. G. Hueter, Ph. D.
Acting Director,
Health Effects Research Laboratory
iii
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ABSTRACT
Seventeen trace elements - arsenic (As), barium (Ba), boron (B),
cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), lead (Pb), lithium (Li),
manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), tin
(Sn), vanadium (V), and Zinc (Zn) - were measured in human scalp hair in two
southeastern United States communities - Birmingham, Alabama and Charlotte,
North Carolina. Of the seven for which dustfall trace element measurements
were available (lead, nickel, cadmium, copper, zinc, chromium, and manganese)
lead showed a significant positive relationship with male and female
children's scalp hair levels, while copper was significantly related to
female children's and male adults' scalp hair concentrations, and
cadmium levels were significantly related to scalp hair levels in male
adults. These results support conclusions of previous studies concerning
lead. Relationships involving copper and cadmium were not indicated in
previous studies, while the results for the other 4 trace elements are
in agreement with previous 2 studies. Only 4 out of 60 tests of
significance were significant when housedust was used as an environmental
exposure index for 15 trace elements. This result is about what one
would expect by chance if no differences actually existed. Therefore
it appears that housedust is not an effective index of exposure when
scalp hair levels are used as indicators of body burdens of trace elements.
Several personal covariates were assessed for influences on scalp hair
trace element levels for male and female children and adults. These
covariates are evaluated as potential confounding factors in future use
of hair as an environmental index.
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CONTENTS
Page
Foreword iii
Abstract iv
Tables vi
1. Introduction 1
2. Methods 3
Environmental Monitoring 3
Scalp Hair and Covariate Information 3
Chemical Analysis 4
Statistical Analysis 5
3. Results 7
Study Population Characteristics 7
Scalp Hair Trace Element Characteristics 8
Pollution Media Trace Element Characteristics 9
Hair Trace Element Concentrations in Relation
to Hair-Related Covariates 10
Hair Trace Element Concentrations in Relation
to Environmental Exposure and Personal
Covariates 11
4. Summary and Discussion 14
References 35
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TABLES
Number Page
1 Sample Preparation and Analytical Methods 17
2 Number of Participants by Age, Sex, and Area or
Residence 18
3 Demographic Characteristics of Adults 19
4 Hair Color by Age Category and Sex 20
5 Hair Preparation Usage in Adults by Sex 21
6 Frequency of Haircut and Hair Shampoo by Age Category
and Sex 22
7 Length of Hair by Age Category and Sex 23
8 Length of Hair by Frequency of Shampoo for Children 24
9 Trace Element Levels in Human Scalp Hair for All Respondents. . . 25
10 Trace Element Levels in Human Scalp Hair in Children
and Adults 26
11 A Significance Table for Hair Element/Element Correlations. ... 27
12 Mean Dustfall Trace Element Levels by Community Area 28
13 Arithmetic and Geometric Mean Housedust Trace Element Levels
by Community Area. 29
14 Tests of Significance of the Effect of Hair-Related
Factors on Children's Scalp Hair Trace Element Levels 30
15 Tests of Significance of the Effect of Hair-Related
Factors on Adults' Scalp Hair Trace Element Levels 31
16 Tests of Significance of the Effect of Selected Factors on
Scalp Hair Trace Element Levels, Using Housedust as a
Measure of Environmental Exposure 32
17 Tests of Significance of the Effects of Selected Factors on
Scalp Hair Trace Element Levels Using Housedust as a
Measure of Environmental Exposure 33-34
VI
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SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
This study is the third in a series of collections of scalp hair
from CHESS communities across the United States (1,2). These and
other studies have shown that human scalp hair can reflect increased
environmental exposure to many trace elements (3-8). The earlier
studies have also demonstrated that scalp hair is an excellent test
object for population sampling, is painlessly removed, is normally
discarded, and is easily collected and conveniently stored.
The purpose of this study is to replicate and extend findings in the
two earlier CHESS studies of relationships between environmental exposure
and trace element content of hair. Relationships indicated in the prior
two studies between values for some trace elements in scalp hair and
personal covariates such as age, sex, smoking habits, socioeconomic level,
and personal grooming and hygiene are also re-examined here.
A better knowledge of the effects of these personal covariates on
trace element content of scalp hair will permit a more accurate assessment
of the quantitative relationships between this tissue and environmental
exposure.
Dustfall has been used as an index of environmental exposure to
trace substances (9,10). More intimate indices to trace substance
exposure - such as household dust, soil and water from CHESS participant
homes - have already been considered (11,12). Dustfall and housedust
are again examined as to their common reflection of environmental exposure
to trace elements.
CHESS stands for Community Health and Environmental Surveillance System.
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The following 17 trace elements are dealt with in this report:
arsenic (As), barium (Ba), boron (B), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr),
copper (Cu), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn), mercury
(Hg), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), vanadium (V),
and zinc (Zn). All 17 trace elements were measured in the housedust
samples, while only 7 (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Ni, Zn) were measured in
dustfall. Eighteen elements were measured in scalp hair, but so many of
the values for Cobalt (Co) were below minimum detectable (70%) that this
element could be given only cursory attention.
The specific hypotheses to be tested are:
1. There are significant relationships between concentrations of trace
elements in dustfall and in housedust.
2. Environmental exposure, as measured by the above two media, is
significantly related to the concentrations of selected trace elements
in scalp hair.
3. There are significant variations in the concentrations of
trace elements in scalp hair that can be attributed to personal covariates
such as race, sex, age, hair length, hair grooming habits, hair cosmetic
treatments, smoking habits, and socioeconomic status.
In addition to the above specific hypothesis, the distributional
characteristics of each scalp hair trace element, including baseline
levels, ranges, and distribution skewness, are also examined.
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SECTION 2
METHODS
Environmental Monitoring
Two southeastern United States CHESS communities were selected for
community-wide sampling of scalp hair - Charlotte, North Carolina and
Birmingham, Alabama. Within each of these communities, three areas of study
were selected such that a general environmental pollution gradient was
believed to exist across them. Atmospheric studies including dustfall
measurements were made at CHESS air monitoring sites within each of the
areas in conjunction with other ongoing CHESS studies (13). The
locations of these sites were such that the population of each area of
interest was within 2.5 kilometers (km) of its monitoring site.
Data on dustfall was obtained monthly over 30 months (February 1970
through July 1972) in Charlotte and 33 months (January 1970 through
September 1972) in Birmingham at the central site or sites within each
area. Standard procedures of collection were followed (14). Housedust
samples were obtained from 44 households in one area of Birmingham and 106
total households in three areas of Charlotte by collecting the contents of
vacuum cleaner dust bags from selected houses.
Scalp Hair and Covariate Information
In the spring of 1972, letters describing the proposed trace element
study were sent to all families actively participating in a CHESS Acute
Respiratory Disease Study (ARD) in the two communities. These letters
included for each family member a return-addressed postpaid envelope, with
the individual member identification label affixed to the back, and
instructions for collecting the hair sample. Almost all hair samples were
3
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obtained in June and July of 1972.
In the instructions it was stressed that the hair should be from
the next normal haircut or trim, and that as much hair as possible
should be collected. It was also stressed that there was no special
need to wash or shampoo the hair before the haircut or trim, because it
would be washed in the laboratory before analysis. Polyethylene bags
for hair samples were sent with the letters and had an identification
label on the back, with each person's first name, family name, and a
space for the date of the haircut. In addition, information as to
frequency of haircut, place of haircut, use and type of hair coloring
preparation (dye, tint, or shampoo), natural hair color, frequency of
shampoo, and hair length was obtained during a regular ARD study telephone
interview. All of this information was then combined with the CHESS ARD
background information questionnaire obtained at the start of the ARD
study to make a complete covariate information file on each contributing
family member.
Chemical Analysis
Dustfall samples were acid extracted and the metals determined by
atomic absorption spectrophotometry (14). Housedust samples were
sieved through a 0.5-mm screen for 5 minutes at 260 oscillations per minute
on a mechanical shaker and extracted with nitric acid (6 mol/liter) at
50° C in a muffle furnace. Hair specimens were washed with a detergent
solution, rinsed, and dried according to the procedure of Harrison et al.
(15). The sample was prepared for analysis by combustion in oxygen
for some elements and by dry ashing for others, as indicated in Table 1.
The dry ashing procedure consisted of wetting the hair with quartz-
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distilled sulfuric acid and heating at 550° C in a muffle furnace. To
prevent any losses when volatile elements were to be analyzed, weighed
portions of the washed and dried hair were prepared by the Schoniger
flask technique (16).
Table 1 also shows the analytical methods used for each element.
Standard laboratory quality-control procedures were used. In addition,
recoveries of all 17 elements added to a housedust sample and to a hair
sample were evaluated by using additions that were either twice the
detection limit or twice the endogenous level, whichever was larger.
Recovery rates exceeded 85% in all cases and were greater than 95% in
most cases.
Statistical Analysis
Before statistical analysis of the data for hair, the values were
edited for outliers, values so far removed from the main body of
readings as to warrant their removal from the population for statistical
analysis purposes.
A statistical procedure was developed for this process, so that the
editing was completely objective. In this procedure the inherent population
variability, as measured by the standard deviation of the logarithms of
the values, was estimated from the central section of the sample.
Limits were then set at three standard deviations from the mean of the
logs. Histograms of the data were carefully examined to ensure the
effectiveness of this procedure, and to verify that a large number of
seemingly valid observations were not being eliminated. The percent
rejected ranged from 0.6% for Cd to 8.7% for Se. Logarithms of the
concentration values were used to normalize the data and to make significance
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tests valid. Standard statistical techniques of correlation and multiple
linear regression were then used to discover the effects and interrelation-
ships of all of the measured variables.
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SECTION 3
RESULTS
Study Population Characteristics
Contact was made with 1,683 families totaling 8,731 individual members
for participation in this study through the existing CHESS sampling network,
and 313 families with a total of 651 members were selected at random from
the sub-population of families who responded to the hair study letter and
contributed hair. Family members who gave no hair, who gave an insufficient
quantity of hair, or who gave no covariate information were excluded. The
resultant population consisted of 635 individual subjects with fairly complete
information. The distribution of subjects by age, sex, and city of residence
is shown in Table 2. The study population is seen to consist of two distinct
age groups. This is a result of the method of contact in the ARD study,
wherein only families having children in elementary schools were selected.
This population division presents no difficulty, however, since subsequent
analyses are made on children and adult populations separately.
The distributions of parents with respect to smoking habits (Table 3)
reveals that a slight shift in smoking patterns occurred in moving from
the original population to the sub-population of families donating hair
samples. There appears to be more non- and ex-smokers and fewer smokers
in the final population. The smoking patterns varied significantly
between the two cities, with Charlotte having more smokers and ex-
smokers than Birmingham. Charlotte was found to have more families with
a high school or greater educational attainment by the head of household.
The education level varied greatly across areas within each city as well.
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Reported hair color by sex for children (15 years of age and less)
and adults (over 15 years of age) showed significant differences in hair
color distribution between adult males and females, but not between male
and female children (Table 4). The adult males showed a higher percentage
of black hair, while adult females had a higher percentage of subjects
with brown and red hair. These differences might be explained by looking
at hair preparation usage in adults (Table 5). There are many more
females reported as using a dye, tint, or hair coloring shampoo than
there are males. There were no children reported as using a hair coloring
preparation. As expected, males were found to have more frequent haircuts
than females in both the children and adult groups.
A significant difference in shampoo frequency between males and
females was found only in the adults (Table 6). Males and females
displayed different patterns of hair length for both children and adults
(Table 7). The females had much greater frequency of shoulder length
hair and longer. This was especially true of the children.
No relationship was found between hair length and frequency of
shampoo in adults, but a significant interaction between these variables
was found in both the male and female children (Table 8). For both
sexes, there was a significant shift towards reduced frequency of shampooing
as hair length increased.
Scalp Hair Trace Element Characteristics
The trace elements in this study all have a log-normal type of
distribution typical of trace elements in hair (17,18). Analytical hair
values obtained are shown in Table 9. They generally agree with published
values.
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The inter-relationships of scalp hair trace metal levels were
examined separately for children (15 years of age or less) and adults
(over 15 years of age), since children are in a rapidly developing stage
of growth in contrast to adults, who have reached a leveling off in
growth and development. In addition, the use of hair coloring preparations
by adults could possibly affect trace element levels. Some adults also
are likely to have been exposed to some work-related sources of trace
elements, and hence may display a good degree more variability from person
to person in scalp hair trace element burden.
It was found that children have significantly higher mean scalp
hair levels than adults for Pb, Cd, Fe, Cr, Ag, V and Mn while Ba, B,
Ni, and Sn were significantly higher in the adults (Table 10).
Pairwise correlation coefficients were computed separately for the
adult and children groupings using the logs of scalp hair trace elements.
There were 77 significant correlations for adults and 101 for the children
out of the 120 correlation coefficients (Table 11). (Arsenic was not
included in the correlation matrix because of the large number of censored
values.) Selenium was the only element to show consistently significant
negative correlations to the other elements. This result for Se is in
close agreement with the New York and New Jersey studies (1,2).
Pollution Media Trace Element Characteristics
Arithmetic means of dustfall trace element concentrations for Pb,
Cd, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni and Mn by community, and arithmetic and geometric means
for 15 trace elements in housedust from a total of 150 homes selected from
three areas of Charlotte and one of Birmingham are given in Tables 12 and 13,
respectively.
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Of the 7 elements measured in dustfall, all except Cu and Ni showed
significant differences in trace element levels among the six areas. Of
the 15 elements examined in housedust (Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Li, Se, Fe, Ba,
B, Cr, Ni, Ag, V, Sn, and Mn), all except Li, Se, Ba, V, and Sn showed
significant differences in trace element levels between the four areas in
which they were measured.
Tables 12 and 13 demonstrate the gradients across areas as well as
the similarities and differences in trace element patterns in these two
media. Cadmium, Cr, and Ni generally have much lower concentrations than
Cu, Pb, Mn, and Zn in both dustfall and housedust in all areas where
measurements are available. This is in exact agreement with the two
earlier CHESS hair studies.
In order to assess more precisely the inter-relationships of housedust
and dustfall, correlations of the respective trace elements across these
two media were computed. Logs of the concentrations were used in this
computation to normalize the data and make significance tests valid. Of
the seven elements measured in both media, three showed significant positive
correlations - Zn, Cu, and Mn. This is in contrast to the New York
study, where all 7 elements were found to be significantly correlated.
Hair Trace Element Concentrations in Relation to Hair-Related Covariates
The possible influences of hair color, hair length, frequency of
haircut, and frequency of shampoo were assessed separately for children
(< 16 years old) and adults (>_ 16 years old). In the adult groups,
"hair preparation usage" is included as one hair color category for
analysis purposes. The covariates usually have quite different distributional
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patterns between sexes. A separate analysis of each covariate was carried
out for each sex-age group category in order to avoid the confounding of
covariate effects with sex differences. The results of the linear model
analysis of each covariate are presented in one table for each sex-age
group in order to allow camparisons of significant factors for each
trace element (Tables 14-15).
For the children, shampoo frequency and hair color are significant
repeatedly for both males and females. Haircut frequency and hair
length are also significant many times in both sexes, with haircut
frequency predominating in males and hair length predominating in females.
This may be a result of the males having much less variability in hair
length, while the females have much less variability in frequency of
haircut. Hence, some common factor, such as "age" of hair sampled, is
probably being reflected in different ways in each of these groups. In
subsequent analyses, therefore, shampoo frequency and hair color will
be included as covariates for both sexes in children, with haircut
frequency also included for males and hair length for females.
There were fewer significant hair covariates in the adult groups,
but the pattern was maintained in each sex with regard to haircut
frequency and hair length. Shampoo frequency was only significant for
adult males in Pb and Mn, while hair color was significant for several
elements in each sex. Hence, in subsequent analyses, hair color will be
included as a covariate in both adult groups, with haircut frequency
included for males and hair length for females.
Hair Trace Element Concentrations in Relation to Environmental Exposure
and Personal Covariates
For each age group, a linear multiple regression analysis is used
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to examine the relation of environmental exposure (as measured by dustfall
or housedust trace element content) to hair trace element content for
the seven elements measured in dustfall and for all the elements measured
in housedust. The linear models for each age group include age, sex,
socioeconomic level (as measured by education of head of household),
hair length (in females), haircut frequency (in males), shampoo frequency
(in children only), and smoking patterns (in adults only) as covariates,
along with environmental trace element levels. The logs of both the
scalp hair and environmental trace element levels are used in the analyses
to make the scalp hair values more closely fit a normal distribution and
to help insure the fit of a linear model to the data. The results of
the statistical tests when monthly average trace element dustfall rates
are used are given in Tables 16 and 17.
Dustfall trace elements are significantly related to hair levels of
Pb in children of both sexes and to hair levels of Cu for female children.
In the adults, Cd and Cu levels show significant relationships to dustfall
levels in male adults, while hair trace element levels in females show no
significant relationships to dustfall levels. All of these significant
relationships indicated increasing levels of scalp hair trace elements with
increasing dustfall trace element levels. The Pb results for children are
in exact agreement with the two earlier scalp hair studies. Relationships
of adult scalp hair trace element levels to dustfall levels were found to
be consistent with the previous studies, in that no relationships have been
found that are significant in more than one of the three studies carried out.
In examining the results of the analyses of housedust, one is led to
conclude that this index of environmental exposure to trace elements is
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nonproductive when scalp hair is considered as a measure of body burden.
Although four housedust trace elements show a significant relationship (Cu
and Ag in male children, Ba in female children and male adults) to scalp
hair levels, it is quite possible that even these relationships are spurious.
Since 60 different tests of significance were carried out (15 trace elements
x 4 groups), one would expect about three significant results by chance
alone (60 x 0.05 = 3.).
In examining the age factor and its relationship to scalp hair trace
element levels, one again finds only four significant results, a result
quite close to what one would expect by chance alone. Since in the previous
studies significant trends were indicated for a number of trace elements»
with these positive trends being concentrated in females, the results of
the present study are in conflict with earlier results. There are of course
several possible explanations for this discrepancy - lower levels of
exposure, smaller age gradients, or even spurious results in earlier
studies. Only with future studies will we discover the true nature of
these relationships.
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SECTION 4
SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
Earlier studies in this series of reports have indicated that hair
trace element content can reflect exposure trends within a metropolitan
area when there are substantial environmental gradients between communities
(1,2). This report supports those study findings of significant effects
on Pb concentrations in children's scalp hair, using dustfall trace element
concentrations as an environmental index. Two other trace elements (Cd
in adult males and Cu in adult males and child females) showed significant
relationships where none had been indicated in previous studies. The other
four trace elements (Cr, Mn, Ni and Zn) showed no significant relationships,
a result in agreement with the previous studies.
The use of housedust as an index of environmental exposure to trace
elements was found to be ineffective in this study, when evaluated on the
criteria of its relationship to scalp hair trace element levels. Only
four trace elements (Cu and Ag in male children, Ba in female children, and
Ba in male adults) showed a significant relationship, whereas by chance
alone one would expect three significant findings in this number of tests
of significance.
Several hair related covariates were found to influence trace element
concentrations in scalp hair. The important covariates in children
were hair color and shampoo frequency, with haircut frequency also important
in male children and hair length important in female children. For the
adults, hair color was significant only occasionally, while haircut
frequency was again important in male adults and hair length was important
in female adults. Shampoo frequency was not found to be relevant in
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determining the scalp hair trace element levels in adults. Discussions
of the relationship of all these covariates to scalp hair trace element
levels may be found in the earlier reports from this series (1,2). The
results of this study support those well-defined conclusions.
Age was not found to be as strong a factor in this study as it was in
the earlier reports. However, a number of trace elements levels were found
to increase with age, most notably Cd and Zn in both male and female children.
Smoking in adults and socioeconomic level in adults and children were
not found to be strongly or consistently related to any scalp hair trace
element concentrations.
The hair trace element interconnections show agreement with the two
earlier reports. As in the two previous reports, hair Se (a nonmetal) showed
a negative correlation with certain hair elements. The significant
correlations in hair between Cd, Cu, and Pb have been found by other
investigators (18-20) as well as in the two earlier studies.
The use of special shampoo containing Se increases hair Se content
significantly (18). This may account for the high proportion of Se
outliers (8.7%) found in this study as well as in the two earlier reports
(1.2).
The relationship between trace element content of hair and (a)
content in other tissues and (b) metabolic status are separate and complex
issues, which should not be confused with the exposure relationships that
are demonstrated here. Some evidence indicates that trace element content
of hair can reflect whole body content (21-24) or content in specific
tissues (5,21,23,25-31). When values for hair do not reflect values for
tissues, hair may reflect the metabolic or health status (21,26,30-32) while
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the blood and other tissue values may not (11,21,30,32-38).
This report, when considered in the light of two others in this
series (1,2), should provide a good picture of true and consistent
relationships between scalp hair trace elements on the one hand and indices
of exposure and personal determinants of concentrations on the other. A
careful review of these three studies should be undertaken before any final
and conclusive statements are made as to the utility of dustfall as a
measure of exposure to particular trace elements. However, it appears
fairly certain that housedust will not prove to be an adequate measure of
exposure to trace elements in our environment. Of course, this conclusion
is based on the assumption that scalp hair trace element levels are a
reflection of body burden, an assumption that in itself may prove to be
untenable for certain trace elements. Hopefully, future studies will
clarify these intricate relationships further.
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TABLE 1. SAMPLE PREPARATION AND ANALYTICAL METHODS*
Metals Preparation Analysis*
Cd,Pb Oxygen combustion AA aspiration
Cu,Mn,Zn,Fe Oxygen combustion AA aspiration
As,Hg,Se Oxygen combustion AA on vapor
Li Oxygen combustion Flame Photometry
Ag Oxygen combustion ES
Ba,B,Cr Dry ashing ES
Ni ,V,Sn Dry ashing ES
* AA = atomic absorption
ES = emission spectroscopy
+ Manganese in hair was evaluated from ES data when detection from
AA was found to be inadequate.
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TABLE 2. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS BY AGE, SEX, AND CITY OF RESIDENCE*
1-5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
46-50
51 +
Totals
Males
20
98
45
9
0
4
25
15
28
9
6
259
Charlotte
Females
16
55
24
8
2
12
48
23
22
6
7
223
Birmingham
Males
6
28
17
2
0
3
4
12
7
4
4
87
Females
2
13
8
3
1
5
9
9
9
1
3
63
* Age was not reported for 19 subjects in Charlotte and 2 subjects in
Birmingham.
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TABLE 3. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULTS
Smoking Patterns
Never
ExSmoker
Current Smoker
of Parents (%)
Original
Population
37.9
16.2
45.9
Families
Giving Hair
40.2
20.9
38.9
Parents
Giving Hair
40.2
20.7
39.1
Smoking Patterns of Parents Giving Hair by City of Residence (%)
Charlotte
Birmingham
Never
ExSmoker
Current Smoker
34.4
21.7
39.9
53.7
14.9
31.4
Education of Head of Household by Area of Residence
Charlotte Area 1
Area 2
Area 3
Birmingham Area 1
Area 2
Area 3
Total
HS
107 (93.0)
18 (19.6)
1 ( 7.7)
28 ( 7.18)
8 (25.0)
0 ( 0.0)
64 (21.3) 75 (24.9) 162 (53.8)
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TABLE 4. HAIR COLOR BY AGE CATEGORY AND SEX
Brown
Blond
Red
Black
Grey & White
Total
Male
108
68
6
30
1
213
Children
Female
58
46
3
10
1
118
Overall
166
114
9
40
2
331
Male
77
14
0
25
16
132
Adults*
Female
121
16
7
12
12
168
Overall
198
30
7
37
28
300
* Significant difference in hair color patterns between males and females in
adults but not in children.
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TABLE 5. HAIR PREPARATION USAGE IN ADULTS BY SEX*
Male Female Overall
Yes 1 49 50
No or Unanswered 131 119 250
* There were no children reported as using a hair coloring preparation.
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TABLE 6. FREQUENCY OF HAIRCUT AND HAIR SHAMPOO BY AGE CATEGORY AND SEX
Frequency of Haircut*
Male
Children
Female Overall
Adults
Male Female
Overall
Every
Once
Every
Every
2 weeks
a month
3 months
6 months
or less
or longer
42
116
49
6
2
10
16
90
44
126
65
96
67
59
5
1
1
37
72
58
68
96
77
59
* Significant differences between males and females for both adults and children.
Frequency of Hair Shampoo+
Male
Children
Female Overall
Adults
Male Female
Overal1
Every 1-2 days
Once a week
Less than once a week
101
103
9
41
70
7
142
173
16
86
43
3
40
120
8
126
163
11
+ Significant differences between male and female hair shampoo frequency in adults
but not in children.
22
-------
TABLE 7. LENGTH OF HAIR BY AGE CATEGORY AND SEX*
Short
Medium
Shoulder
Longer
Total
Male
105
101
6
1
213
Children
Female
9
19
19
71
118
Overall
114
120
25
72
331
Male
100
30
1
0
131
Adults
Female
72
49
22
25
168
Overall
172
79
23
25
299
* Significant differences by sex for both adults and children.
23
-------
TABLE 8. LENGTH OF HAIR BY FREQUENCY OF SHAMPOO FOR CHILDREN*
Frequency:
Length: Short
Medium
Shoulder
Longer
Short
Medium
Shoulder
Longer
1-2 days
62
36
3
0
2
8
8
23
Males
Weekly
40
59
3
1
Females
5
10
8
47
Less than once a week
3
6
0
0
2
1
3
1
* Significant interaction for both male and female children, but no
differences found in adult patterns.
24
-------
TABLE 9. TRACE ELEMENT LEVELS IN HUMAN SCALP HAIR FOR ALL RESPONDENTS*
Arsenic+
Barium
Boron
Cadmi urn
Chromium
Copper
Iron
Lead
Lithium
Manganese
Mercury*
Nickel
Selenium
Silver
Tin
Vanadium
Zinc
No. of
Obs.
628
600
601
631
597
616
622
628
629
600
621
605
576
602
603
604
617
Arith.
Mean
.10
2.91
.94
1.21
1.71
17.01
47.90
12.47
.07
1.16
.47
1.72
.57
.28
1.66
.36
113.48
Geo.
Mean
.04
1.63
.57
.84
1.06
10.82
36.56
8.91
.05
.87
.26
1.03
.45
.13
1.02
.24
93.13
Min.
.003
.06
.02
.08
.07
1.00
4.40
1.23
.005
.13
.03
.08
.05
.003
.10
.013
10.90
Max.
3.14
19.00
13.00
9.24
18.00
162.00
310.00
87.80
.36
7.00
7.51
16.00
3.01
3.20
13.00
2.90
505.00
+ 1 geo.
Lower
.01
.55
.20
.37
.41
4.13
17.96
4.07
.02
.41
.10
.39
.23
.04
.40
.09
46.62
std. dev.
Upper
.18
4.81
1.58
1.92
2.71
28.30
74.42
19.48
.11
1.82
.73
2.72
.88
.48
2.60
.62
186.02
* All concentrations are in yg/g of hair.
+ About 16% of the As and 6% of the Hg values were below detectable limits.
In those cases, the minimum detectable value for that sample was used in
the above calculations.
25
-------
TABLE 10. TRACE ELEMENT LEVELS IN HUMAN SCALP HAIR IN CHILDREN* AND ADULTS*
Children
Arsenic
Barium"
Boron"
Cadmium"1"
Chromium"1"
Copper
Iron"1"
Lead*
Lithium
Manganese"1"
Mercury
Nickel -
Selenium"
Silver"1"
Tin
Vanadium"1"
Zinc
Adults
Arsenic
Barium
Boron
Cadmi urn
Chromium
Copper
Iron
Lead
Lithium
Manganese
Mercury
Nickel
Selenium
Silver
Tin
Vanadium
Zinc
No. of
Obs.
323
311
310
326
304
314
322
325
322
310
322
311
298
308
311
310
316
288
273
275
289
111
285
283
286
291
275
282
278
263
279
276
278
285
Arith.
Mean
0.12
2.42
0.82
1.50
1.78
18.25
52.58
13.94
0.07
1.29
0.46
1.53
0.59
0.37
1.22
0.38
110.84
0.09
3.41
1.09
0.87
1.62
16.02
41.57
10.52
0.07
1.00
0.47
1.88
0.55
0.18
2.15
0.34
117.73
Geo.
Mean
0.05
1.42
0.51
1.11
1.14
11.35
40.65
10.21
0.05
0.96
0.27
0.92
0.45
0.20
0.84
0.28
90.25
0.03
1.86
0.96
0.61
0.96
10.47
31.77
7.50
0.05
0.77
0.25
1.12
0.46
0.09
1.25
0.20
97.78
Min.
0.003
0.06
0.04
0.10
0.09
1.00
4.40
1.33
0.01
0.13
0.03
0.08
0.05
0.003
0.11
0.02
10.90
0.003
0.18
0.02
0.08
0.07
1.00
5.04
1.23
0.01
0.15
0.03
0.16
0.10
0.004
0.10
0.01
10.90
Max.
1.25
19.00
7.70
9.24
18.00
162.00
276.00
87.80
0.36
7.00
5.44
16.00
3.01
3.20
12.00
2.20
357.00
3.140
19.00
15.00
8.35
15.00
113.00
310.00
78.20
0.36
6.90
7.51
15.00
2.92
2.10
13.00
2.90
505.00
+. 1 geo.
Lower
0.01
0.51
0.19
0.52
0.46
4.24
20.16
4.77
0.02
0.45
0.10
0.36
0.22
0.06
0.38
0.12
44.69
0.01
0.61
0.36
0.28
0.36
4.10
15.89
3.49
0.02
0.38
0.09
0.41
0.25
0.02
0.45
0.07
49.85
std. dev.
Upper
0.22
3.97
1.36
2.37
2.81
30.36
81.96
21.88
0.12
2.04
0.71
2.37
0.93
0.64
1.89
0.63
182.27
0.14
5.69
2.57
1.34
2.57
26.78
63.52
16.13
0.11
1.56
0.74
3.06
0.83
0.29
3.50
0.57
191.77
* Children defined as ages 0 through 15, adults as age greater than 15. All
measurements are in yg/g.
+ Geometric mean for children significantly higher than for adults (a=0.05).
- Geometric mean for children significantly lower than for adults (a=0.05).
26
-------
TABLE 11. A SIGNIFICANCE TABLE FOR HAIR ELEMENT/ELEMENT CORRELATIONS*
Pb Cd Cu Zn Hg Li Se Fe Ba B Cr Ni Ag V Sn Mn
Pb + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Cd+ + + + + ++ + + + + + +
Cu + + + + + ++ + + + + + +
Zn + + + ++ + + + + + + +
Hg + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Li + + + + + + ++ + + + + + +
Se +
Fe+H- + + + + + + + + +
Ba -+ + + + + + + +
B +++++ + +
Cr+ + + + +- + + + + + + + +
Ni + + + - + + + + + + + +
Ag++ + + ++ + + +
V + + + + + + + + + + +
Sn++ + + + + + + + + +
Mn+ + + + + + + + + + + + +
* A + indicates a significant positive relationship while a - indicates a
significant negative relationship at a=0.05.
27
-------
TABLE 12. MEAN DUSTFALL TRACE ELEMENT LEVELS BY COMMUNITY AREA*
Cd+
Cr+
Cu
Pb+
Mn+
Ni
Zn+
Area 1
0.055
0.103
1.552
2.475
0.586
0.066
4.998
Charlotte
Area 2 Area 3
0.079
0.146
1.987
5.847
1.904
0.209
7.480
0.141
0.135
2.273
4.196
1.009
0.150
5.367
Area 1
0.073
0.492
2.286
3.732
12.263
0.308
27.476
Birmingham
Area 2 Area 3
0.110
0.311
4.049
5.747
6.820
0.314
24.118
0.182
0.371
3.718
9.453
6.924
0.346
31.710
* Concentrations in mg/m2/month
+ Significant differences between areas at a = 0.05.
28
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REFERENCES
1. Creason, J. P., Hinners, T. A., Bumgarner, J. E., and Pinkerton, C.,
Human Scalp Hair: An Environmental Exposure Index for Trace Elements.
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037A, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, May 1978.
2. Creason, J. P., Hinners, T. A., Bumgarner, J. E., and Pinkerton, C.,
Human Scalp Hair: An Environmental Exposure Index for Trace Elements
II. Seventeen Trace Elements in Four New Jersey Communities (1972).
EPA-600/1-78-037B, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, June 1978.
3. Hammer, D. I., Finklea, J. F., Hendricks, R. H., and Shy, C. M., Hair
trace metal levels and environmental exposure. Am. J. Epidemiol.
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4. Hammer, D. I., Finklea, J. F., Hendricks, R. H., Hinners, T. A.,
Riggan, W. B., and Shy, C. M., Trace metals in human hair as a
simple epidemiologic monitor of environmental exposure. In Trace
Substances in Environmental Health - V. D. D. Hemphill, Ed. Um-
Versity of Missouri Press, Columbia, Mo., 1972, pp 25-38.
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environmental lead exposure. Arch. Environ. Health 26, 169, 1973.
6. Kopito, L., Byers, R. K.., and Shwachman, H., Lead in hair of children
with chronic lead poisoning. New Eng. J. Med. 276, 949, 1967.
7. Yamaguchi, S., Matsumoto, H., Matsuo, S., Kaku, S., and Hoshide, M.,
Relationship between mercury content of hair and amount of fish
consumed. HSMHA Health Reports 86., 904, 1971.
8. Nelson, N. et al., Hazards of mercury. Environ. Res. £, 20, 1971.
9. Creason, J. P., McNulty, 0., Heiderscheit, L. T., Swanson, D. H., and
Buechley, R. W., Roadside gradients in atmospheric concentrations of
cadmium, lead and zinc. In Trace Substances in Environmental Health -
V. D. D. Hemphill, Ed. University of Missouri Press, Columbia, Mo.,
T972, p. 129.
10. Hunt, W. F., Pinkerton, C., McNulty, 0., and Creason, J. P., A
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TECHNICAL REPORT DATA
(Please read Instructions on the reverse before completing)
1 REPORT NO.
EPA-600/l-78-037c
3. RECIPIENT'S ACCESSION NO.
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
HUMAN SCALP HAIR: AN ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE INDEX FOR
TRACE ELEMENTS. III. Seventeen Trace Elements in
Birmingham, Alabama and Charlotte, North Carolina (1972)
5. REPORT DATE
July 1978
6. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION CODE
7 AUTHOR(S)
John P. Creason, Thomas A. Hinners and Joseph E.
Bumgarner
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NO.
9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS
Health Effects Research Laboratory and Environmental
Monitoring and Support Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711
10. PROGRAM ELEMENT NO.
1AA601
11. CONTRACT/GRANT NO.
12. SPONSORING AGENCY NAME AND ADDRESS
Health Effects Research Laboratory
Office of Research and Development
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, N.C. 27711
RTP,NC
13. TYPE OF REPORT AND PERIOD COVERED
14. SPONSORING AGENCY CODE
EPA 600/11
15. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
16. ABSTRACT
Seventeen trace elements - arsenic (As), barium (Ba), boron, (B), cadmium, (Cd),
chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), lead (Pb), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn),
mercury (Hg), nickle (Ni), selenium (Se), silver (Ag), tin (Sn), vanadium (V), and
Zinc (Zn) - were measured in human scalp hair in two southeastern United States
communities - Birmingham, Alabama and Charlotte, North Carolina. Of the seven for whi
dustfall trace element measurements were available (lead, nickle, cadmium, copper,
zinc, chromium and manganese) lead showed a significant positive relationship with
male and female children's scalp hair levels, while copper was significantly related
to female childrens' and male adults' scalp hair concentrations, and cadmium levels
were significantly related to scalp hair levels in male adults. Only four out of
sixty tests of significance were significant when housedust was used as an environ-
mental exposure index for fifteen trace elements. This result is about what one
would expect by chance if no differences actually existed. Therefore it appears
that housedust is not an effective index of exposure if in fact scalp hair levels are
indicators of body burdens of trace elements. Several personal covariates were
assessed for influences on scalp hair trace element levels for male and female
children and adults. These covariates are evaluated as potential confounding factors
in future use of hair as an environmental index.
17.
KEY WORDS AND DOCUMENT ANALYSIS
DESCRIPTORS
b.lDENTIFIERS/OPEN ENDED TERMS
COS AT I Field/Group
trace elements
hair
indexes (ratios)
environmental surveys
Charlotte
North Carlina
Birmingham
Alabama
06 T, F
13. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT
RELEASE TO PUBLIC
19. SECURITY CLASS (This Report)
UNCLASSIFIED
21. NO. OF PAGES
44
20, SECURITY CLASS (Thispage)
UNCLASSIFIED
22. PRICE
EPA Form 2220-1 (9-73)
38
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