Health status of workers of a thermal power station exposed for prolonged periods to arsenic and other elements from fuel.

The Nováky Power Station (NPS) has been using since 1953 as fuel coal with a high content of As and with a low content of other metals. This involves a constant risk for the workers as well as pollution of the surroundings. The authors described 16 cases of chronic As intoxication in NPS workers after 22.

Content of the selected trace elements (Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) in blood, urine and hair of blood donors without occupational exposure to these metals.

The trace element content in biological samples from blood donors (BD) has not been studied in detail so far. In everyday practice minimum attention is paid to the occupational history of blood donors from different social strata. In addition to clinical and elementary haematological and biochemical examinations, the authors assessed levels of Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) in two groups of BD--from the Orava (n = 19) and Prievidza region (n = 29).

Levels of selected elements (Fe, As, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn) in biological samples from ferrochromium workers.

A long-term exposure to metals poses the question of whether the impaired health condition is caused exclusively by the quantitatively dominant exposure metal. In 67 workers exposed to ferrochromium alloys on average 12.5 +/- 1.