A REVIEW OF HEAVY METAL (As, Pb, Cd and Hg) TOXICITY ON INFANTS

Yıl 2017, Cilt: Volume 2 Sayı: İssue 1 (1) - 2.İnternational Congress Of Forensic Toxicology, 154 - 154, 16.02.2017

Selda Sert Zeliha Kayaaltı

Öz

Heavy metals
such as lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, aluminum and copper constitute one of
the most significant pollutant groups in the world. They are considered toxic
and hazardous to human being like many organisms due to their poisoning
potential even at low concentrations. They may not inflict heavy damages on the
general populations but it is not the same for fetuses and neonates since they
are much more vulnerable to the all kinds of toxicity owing to their immature
detoxification systems. Arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury acknowledged as the
most toxic ones are transferred from mother to child during pregnancy without
any filtration by placenta. It could be said that placenta is the biological
access of environmental hazards and maternal transfer to the fetus. However,
there are not many data concerned with the toxic effects of these metals on
infants. It appears that exposure to arsenic during pregnancy may increase the
risk of mental and developmental deficiency or even worse fetal and infant
death. Exposure to lead during pregnancy may cause the physical and cognitive
development of infant adversely. Cadmium may harm the placenta and retard
weight gain of the new born. Mercury may also have adverse effects on nervous
system of infant. In this paper, a review is presented on the studies related
to heavy metal (As, Pb, Cd and Hg) toxicity on infants accompanied by
pregnants. The hazard identification and risk characterization of these metals
have also been discussed in the paper. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

A REVIEW OF HEAVY METAL (As, Pb

Kaynakça

• Selda SERT, Zeliha KAYAALTI
• Directorship of Chemistry Laboratory, Test and Calibration Centre Department, Turkish Standards Institution (TSE), Gebze Quality Campus, Cumhuriyet Neighbourhood, 2258 Avenue, 10, Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey Institute of Forensic Sciences, Ankara University, Turkey