Lead in blood and hair of population near an operational and a proposed area for copper mining, Malaysia.

The article presents a study which aims to examine the effect of lead concentration in the blood and hair of a population adjacent a copper mine in Malaysia. The study involved 424 blood samples and 360 hair samples digested into concentrated nitric acid, neutralised with acetate solution, and extracted into methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). Results show that males have higher lead concentration in blood (PbB) than females and lead in hair were found to be independent on all age groups.