Hazards of heavy metal

Hazard of various occupation – oil

and gas, construction, office’s,
agriculture.

Akusu Ifiezibe Okeoghene

 outline
• Introduction
• Hazard and risk
• Classification of hazards
• Hazards of heavy metal
• Routes of entry of occupational hazards
• Hazards of oil and gas
• Hazards of construction site’s
• Hazards of office’s
• Hazards of agriculture
• Control of occupational hazards
 introduction
• Heavy metals are naturally occurring elements that have a high
atomic weight and a density at least five times greater than that
of water. A density of more than 5 g/cm3 is commonly accepted
as the criterion for a heavy metal, especially in biochemistry and
environmental toxicology, because of the relationship between
heaviness and toxicity.
• This therefore includes metalloids such as arsenic, antimony and
selenium (density 4.8 g/cm3) which have the right water-borne
chemistry and are able to induce toxicity at low level of exposure
• they are usually toxic elements that can be found in certain work
and other environment.
• Due to their toxic state, exposure (most times when too much)
can be very dangerous to the human body.
• This lecture would try to expatiate further on hazards of heavy
metal and various other occupation.
 Hazard and risk
• What is hazard or a hazard?
• A HAZARD is anything with the
innate potential to cause harm
• What is a risk?
• A RISK is the likelihood for harm
to occur
 Classification of hazard
(based on environment they occur)
• Physical: ‘objective’ hazard. Minimal
matter yet capable of affecting the
biological mechanism of exposed workers.
E.g. Radiation, noise, temperature,
pressure, vibration, light, electric
• Chemical: especially used in industries in
liquid, dust, fumes, vapour, mists or gas.
E.g. Pesticides, acids, alkali, benzene,
asbestos, silica, coal dust
• Biological: caused by living organisms e.g.
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, helminths as well
as toxic/allergic reactions to plants,
insects, birds, animals, including humans
 Classification cont’d
• Mechanical: ‘functional’ hazards
arising from accidents like
injuries from tools and machines.
E.g. slips, trips, falls, abrasion
• Social: human-human interaction
at work. E.g. Malingering,
alcohol, stress depression,
bullying – affecting job
satisfaction/well being
 Hazard of heavy metals
• Heavy metals are sometimes called trace elements. This is not
only because they are relatively scarce in the Earth's crust, but
also because they are found in significantly lower
concentrations (ppb range to less than 10ppm) in various
environmental matrices.
• By definition, heavy metals encompass up to 96 out of the 118
known chemical elements, but only a few are of public health
importance, either because of their toxicity or their role in
body metabolism. Heavy metals such as cobalt (Co), copper
(Cu), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), manganese
(Mn), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), selenium (Se) and zinc
(Zn) are considered essential nutrients, because of their roles
in various biochemical and physiological functions, such that
inadequate supply of these micro-nutrients results in a variety
of deficiency diseases or syndromes.
• On the other hand, heavy metals such as
arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and
mercury are considered systemic toxicants,
because of their ability to induce multiple
organ damage, even at trace levels of
exposure. They are also classified as human
carcinogens (known or probable) by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the
International Agency for Research on Cancer,
because of their genotoxic and carcinogenic
properties.
• These destructive potentials also include the beneficial heavy metals which
are mostly cofactors of various enzymes that are involved in reactions that
generate destructive superoxide and hydroxyl radicals.
- Iron and copper are part of enzyme complexes involved in oxygen &
electron transport.
- Cobalt is involved in complex syntheses and cell metabolism.
- Zinc is part of hydroxylation enzymes.
- Vanadium and manganese are enzyme cofactors.
- Chromium is involved in glucose utilisation.
- Nickel is involved in cell growth.
- Selenium is part of antioxidant enzymes and hormone production.

• The vast amount of oxidants produced by the heavy metals explains why
even the beneficial ones are required in the body in very minute quantities,
with a very narrow range of concentrations between beneficial and toxic
effects. Although heavy metals are relatively scarce in the Earth's crust, they
are nevertheless widely distributed in the environment, because of their
multiple industrial, domestic, agricultural, medical and technological
applications; thereby presenting multiple sources of human exposure.
• Environmental pollution with the heavy metals
is particularly prominent in point source areas
such as mining, foundries and smelters, and
other metal-based industrial operations, as well
as the domestic and agricultural use of the
metals and the metal-containing compounds.
• Natural phenomena such as weathering and
volcanic eruptions have also been reported to
significantly contribute to heavy metal pollution.
• In this lecture we shall take a look at lead and
mercury.
• Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb
(from the Latin plumbum) and an atomic
number of 82, the highest atomic number of
any stable element, and therefore denser than
most common materials. It is however soft
and malleable, has a relatively low melting
point, and can therefore be processed with
wood fire into several domestic and industrial
products.
• Sources include lead roofing sheets, lead
pipe’s, stained glasses, lead bullets, anti-knock
agent’s, lead soldering of canned foods and
ceramic container’s.
• Occupational exposure of lead include pollution from
industrial activities eg Industries that produce or recycle
lead-acid batteries, lead wire, lead pipes and ammunition
are major polluters of the environment with lead. Children
living close to such facilities have been found to have
unusually high blood levels of lead.
• Routes of exposure Exposure to lead occurs mainly through:
• The inhalation of lead-contaminated dust particles or
aerosols.
• The ingestion of lead-contaminated food, water, and paints.
• Through direct contact with the mouth, nose, and eyes
(mucous membranes); and occasionally .
• Through skin contact, especially through breaks in the skin
due to injuries sustained while working.
• Harmful effects of lead toxicity include ;
• Symptoms begin to manifest in adults at lead levels above 40 μg/dL,
while they begin to manifest in children at the higher level of 60 μg/dL,
mainly because of the lesser previous exposures of children.
• Neuropsychiatric symptoms such as delayed reaction times, irritability,
difficulty in concentrating and headache are the first to manifest,
followed by haemolytic anaemia that manifests as the blood lead level
gets above 50 μg/dL.
• Adults begin to have abdominal colic at blood lead levels greater than 80
μg/dL.
• Wrist drop and foot drop and other signs of encephalopathy begin to
occur in adults at blood lead levels exceeding 100 μg/dL .
• Acute lead poisoning leads to the attainment of these dangerous blood
levels of lead within a 24-hour period, resulting mainly in the symptoms
listed above. Chronic poisoning results from a more gradual increase over
several months, within which lead is seeded into all parts of the body,
especially the bones, soft tissues and red blood cells, attaining
concentrations in these tissues that result in severe damages like massive
cellular damage and organ failure and even cancer.
• For children, they begin to manifest signs of encephalopathy such as
bizarre behaviour, disco-ordination, and apathy as the lead levels begin
to exceed 70 μg/dL.
• Lead poisoning of children unlike adults affects the growth and
development of the children, with apparently no lower threshold to the
dose-response relationship (unlike other heavy metals such as
mercury). For example, reduced academic performance has been
associated with lead exposure even at blood lead levels lower than 5
μg/dL; while blood lead concentrations greater than 10 μg/dL have
shown that children are in danger of developmental disabilities with:
-Diminished intelligence
-Lower intelligence quotient-IQ
-Delayed or impaired neurobehavioral development
- Decreased hearing acuity
-Speech and language handicaps
-Growth retardation
-Poor attention span
- Anti-social and diligent behaviours.
• Mercury is a relatively rare metal in the earth’s
crust, but widely distributed in the environment
from volcanic eruptions, gold and silver mining
activities, the burning of coal and other fossil fuel,
and the use and disposal of fluorescent light bulbs
and medical gadgets such as mercury
thermometers and sphygmomanometer.
• Mercury exists in the environment as element,
inorganic and organic compounds, and all have
been established to be toxic to human beings on
exposure.
• Sources of exposure to elemental mercury include:
-Broken mercury thermometers
- sphygmomanometers and fluorescent light bulbs
- Dental fillings: Mercury is used in dentistry in dental amalgam, also known as "silver
filling".
-Gold mining: Metallic mercury is sometimes used in artisanal and small-scale gold
mining in Nigeria as this process exposes the miner to significant levels of mercury.
-Volcanic eruptions
-Mining activities
-The weathering of rocks
-Emissions from the burning of coal, firewood and other bio-mass fuel, because of the
mercury content of biomass fuel.
-Effluent discharge of mercury utilizing factories.
-Traditional drugs, especially those of Chinese medicine contains significant amount of
mercury. Fluids used in ethnic religious, magical, and ritualistic practices often contain
mercury.
- Cosmetics: widely used in skin lightening soaps and creams.
-Photographic film: Mercuric chloride is used in photography.
- Wood preservative, and fungicide.
- In the past, mercurous chloride was widely used in medicinal products, including
laxatives, worming medications, and teething powders. It has since been replaced by
safer and more effective agents.
-Mercuric sulphide is used to colour paints and is one of the red colouring agents used in
• Routes of exposure Exposure to mercury occurs
mainly through ;
- inhalation, ingestion and through skin
contact.
- The evaporation of elemental mercury,
following the breakage of its container.
- The inhalation of fumes of inorganic
mercury in course of occupational
activities. Mercury fumes are generated by
mining and smelting activities, and by
mercury utilization industries.
-The burning of coal and other fossil fuel
-The ingestion of Mercury-contaminated food and
drinking water are common sources of
exposure to mercury for the general
population.
-Through direct skin contact.
• Harmful effects of mercury toxicity
• Toxicity and types of disease caused by mercury is influenced by the
following:
• the type of mercury: organic mercury compounds are the most toxic.
• the dose: the toxicity of mercury is dose-related like most toxins and
toxicants.
• the age or developmental stage of the person exposed: foetus and
young children are the most affected, because of the effects of mercury
on the developing brain, due to the ease with which mercury crosses
the placenta and the blood-brain barrier.
• the duration of exposure: acute exposure to high doses affects the
nervous system and irritates the route of entry, while chronic exposure
in low dose over a long period, and affects mostly the nervous system,
kidneys and the liver where the mercury accumulates.
• the route of exposure: the inhalation of mercury fumes is the most
toxic, because of the ease with which mercury is absorbed through the
lungs.
• For a pregnant woman, Mercury has a predilection for the nervous
system, and often causes an impaired neurological development of
the foetus and child. Babies so exposed have been found to have
problems with cognitive thinking, memory, attention, language,
and fine motor and visual spatial skills. Severely affected babies
develop a condition called foetal methylmercury syndrome that is
characterised by microcephaly (small head) and cerebral palsy
symptoms such as lack of eye coordination, convulsions, neck
instability and mental retardation.
• The ingestion of heavy meal of heavily contaminated fish can also
result in acute poisoning.
• Acute mercury poisoning manifests as the irritation of the route of
entry, and the effects on the nervous system.
• occupational inhalation of high doses of mercury fumes results in
dryness and irritation of the nose and throat, cough, difficulty in
breathing, and the other symptoms of erosive bronchitis and
bronchiolitis, potentially leading to respiratory failure.
• Long term exposure to high levels of mercury, often noticed in
fishing riverine communities of the Niger delta region are at risk,
not only because they consume a lot of fish in their diet, but also
because they prefer the big, carnivorous fish like shark and
sword fish that have been shown to contain significantly higher
levels of mercury.
• Minamata disease is the disease that results from chronic
mercury poisoning. It is named after the Minamata Bay in Japan
where the disease was first noticed, following the contamination
of the bay with methylmercury discharged by a factory
producing acetic acid. Mercury is a neurotoxin, and Minamata
disease is characterized by such severe neurological symptoms
as slurred speech, unsteadiness of gait and limbs, muscle
weakness, irritability, memory loss, depression and sleeping
difficulties; as well as kidney damage and heart problems. It is
also capable of causing birth defects, hence the advice given to
women of child bearing age
 Routes of entry of occupational
hazards
• Inhalation: commonest route as vapour, gas
mist, spray, fumes or dust thru the lungs into
the body.
• Skin contact: especially important for solvents
– skin sensitization or systemic poisoning
• Ingestion: common in home poisoning, work-
via eating or smoking with contaminated
hand
• Injection: Parenteral & common among health
workers e.g. HBsAg, HIV
 Hazards of oil and gas
• We shall look at hazards worker’s here are exposed to.
• Acid rain caused by gas flaring is a common finding in communities
of the Niger delta region.
• Particulate Matter ; gas flares in Nigeria are said to emit significant
amounts of particulate matter, because of their low efficiency. it is
most harmful when it gets into the body through inhalation. It has 4
type ;
- Visible smoke is the biggest of the particles, with
sizes above 10 microns.
- PM10, particles with a diameter less than 10 microns.
-PM2.5, particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 microns;
and.
-PM0.1, comprising particles with a diameter less than 0.1
microns.
• The triggering of asthmatic attack in asthmatic
patients, increased susceptibility to respiratory
infections, especially in children, Increased
susceptibility to chronic bronchitis in adults, the
sickening of patients with pre-existing cardio-
vascular diseases, resulting in their hospitalization
and excess mortality, especially amongst patients
with pre-existing cardiorespiratory ailments have
all been attributed to particulate matter.
• Exposure to other heavy metals that have harmful
capacities in toxic doses.
 Hazards of construction site
• Most workers here are exposed to various kinds of
hazards that cut across various sphere’s of life.
• They include the following ;
• Mechanical injuries that may lead to temporary loss of
function of the injured part (e.g. a limb) or even
permanent disabilities and death.
• Prolonged exposure to radiation and other heavy
metals, depending on what they work with, may lead to
leukaemia's in the near future.
• High chances of getting electrocuted.
• Exposure to noise pollution in the long run may cause
deafness.
 Hazard’s of office’s
• Sedentary lifestyle may lead to obesity and it’s
consequences.
• Low back pain among worker’s in the long run.
• Scoliosis and other degenerative spine and bone disease’s.
• If office space isn’t properly planned, worker’s may be
exposed to unsafe wire’s carrying current (electricity), sharps
and other form’s of trauma causing objects.
• If the office space is too small and is overcrowded, a sick
worker with a highly infectious disease (e.g. covid19) can
easily spread it.
• Other respiratory tract infections.
• Fire breakout’s.
• Fall’s and slip.
 hazard’s of agriculture
• Worker’s here are exposed to quite a lot ;
• Trauma from working equipment’s.
• Exposure to arsenic, a heavy metal which can be found in
the soil.
• Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, algaecide's, sheep dips,
wood preservatives, and dye-stuffs have also been found to
contain arsenic and other heavy metals, as well as
organophosphates.
• Snake bite’s and other wild animals.
• Low back pain.
• Scoliosis and other degenerative spine and bone disease’s.
• Prolonged exposure to heat wave’s and ultraviolet rays
from the sun, harsh extreme weather conditions.
 Control of occupational hazard’s
The methods of controlling occupational
hazards depend on the type of hazard.
Basically, the methods aim to
 Removing the hazard or
process...ELIMINATION
 Replacing with less hazardous
agent/process- CONTAINMENT
 Reducing the risk/hazard by engineering
modification- ADJUNCT
 HIERACHY OF HAZARD CONTROL
(in the order of decreasing effectiveness)

• ELIMINATION
• SUBSTITUTION
• ENGINEERING CONTROL(enclosure, isolation,
local exhaust ventilation, ventilation, wet
method/suppression etc.)
• ADMINISTRATION (Pre-employment medical
exam, training, limitation of time of exposure,
HE, warnings, publicity, environmental
monitoring etc.)
• PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
• PERSONAL HYGIENE, HOUSE KEEPING &
GENERAL CLEANLINESS
•Questions

• Thanks for listening