Metals Sessions

There were two metals sessions at the conference. In the morning session, papers related to heavy metal and mercury contamination due to air pollution were presented. In the afternoon, topics related to cadmium and other heavy metals were discussed. The morning session was jointly chaired by Prof. Xinbin Feng, Chinese Academy of Science, and Prof. Fujio Kayama, Jichi Medical University, Japan. Dr. Song Dangyu from Henan Polytechinc University, China, reported high Cd contents in coal in Guizhou Province, China. Dr. Xia Bin reported that 20 million hectares of croplands in China are polluted by heavy metals. He recommended monitoring Cd pollution in the polluted areas, and evaluation of human health risk. Zhang Xinying, China, reported on a health risk evaluation that was performed on the inhabitants in a mining town in southern China. His study revealed a high amount of heavy metal exposure, including to metals As, Cd, Mn, Mo, Sb, Pb, Zn, Cu, in both PM10 dust in the town and neighboring farmland soil. The major exposure route is inhalation and he stressed that measures reducing traffic dust are urgently needed. Jian Bo-Shi, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported mercury pollution in coal and related health problems. He mentioned the importance of the environmental burden of mercury due to coal combustion in China, which is responsible for 25% of annual anthropogenic mercury emissions worldwide. Dr. Mineshi Sakamoto, National Institute of Minamata Disease, Japan, studied methyl-mercury transfer from mother to fetus, both in an animal model and in a human epidemiological study. The study revealed that methyl mercury exposure to the fetus may be high but it dramatically decreases during the nursing period. Dr. Feng Xinbin, Chinese Academy of Science, reported that some smeltering workers in the mercury mines in Guizhou Province, China, manifested some clinical symptoms of chronic mercury poisoning and adverse renal effects. Dr. Liu Wenjun from MOE Key Laboratory of Environment & Health, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, reported higher background levels of mercury in the soil samples in China and reported the need for risk assessment of mercury exposure and adverse health effects in China.

The afternoon metals session was chaired by Dr. Chiharu Tohyama, Tokyo University, and Dr. Kirpal Singh, Jubilee University, Papua New Guinea. Dr. Dai Yao-Hua from the Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, reported surveillance results of child blood lead levels in 14 cities in China from 2004 - 2006. The blood lead levels of children in the cities in China were lower than the data from national studies in the past, but higher than those in developed countries. Dr. Pan Jie from Peking University, China, reported that occupational exposure of female workers to mercury can cause dysfunction in reproductive system, including abnormal menstrual period and cycles, dysmenorrhea, as well as adverse reproductive outcomes such as stillbirth, and neonates with low birth weight and congenital defects. Dr. Kayama Fujio, Jichi Medical University, Japan, reported on cadmium contamination in rice and risk assessment of cadmium ingestion in Japan. Dr. Wang Hailan from Guangdong Province Hospital for Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment, China, reported on 15 cases of occupational chronic cadmium poisoning in Ni-Cd, or Ag- Cd battery manufacturing factories in Guangdong Province, China. Dr. Liu Xianbin from Tianjin University of Science and Technology, China, reported heavy metal contamination in sediments in Tianjin Port. He reported that the sediments were polluted slightly by cadmium, but other heavy metals were low. He determined that the environmental conditions in Tianjin Port have improved greatly over recent years. Dr.Y. Zakaria from Cairo University, Egypt, reported that manganese- induced oxidative stress , measured by reactive oxygen species, may be a primary mechanism underlying the neurotoxicity of the metal. Dr. Ama lEl Safty from Cairo University, Egypt, reported zinc fever cases among galvanization workers in the iron and steel industries. She emphasized the urgent need for education in occupational health and workplace monitoring by occupational physicians. Dr. Sadiq Mohammed from University of Peshawar, Pakistan, reported that catalytic oxidation of toluene by Pt/ZrO2 may be an effective method in removing toluene in aqueous solutions.