Vanadium levels in hair and blood of normal and exposed persons.

Vanadium was determined by both instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and NAA with radiochemical separation (RNAA) in hair of normal children and of children potentially exposed by accidental drinking of vanadium contaminated water (long-term, low-dose exposure). Vanadium hair levels in the two groups did not differ significantly and were in the range 46-313 micrograms/kg (median 98 micrograms/kg) and 24-235 micrograms/kg (median 88 micrograms/kg for the normal and exposed groups, respectively. Using RNAA with proven reliability at the ultratrace level, vanadium was determined in whole blood of the exposed and normal children, normal adults and workers professionally exposed to vanadium in a factory producing vanadium pentoxide. Significantly increased vanadium concentrations were found in blood of exposed children (range 0.018-0.239 micrograms/l, median 0.078 micrograms/l) compared to normal children (range 0.024-0.226 micrograms/l, median 0.042 micrograms/l), while no differences could be detected between blood vanadium levels of normal children and normal adults (range 0.032-0.095 micrograms/l, median 0.056 micrograms/l). Preliminary results for vanadium in blood of occupationally highly exposed persons showed values 2-4 orders of magnitude higher than in normal adults.