Trace Elements in Scalp-Hair of Students from Four Different Environmental Contexts

Many individuals come into contact, at times unawares, with substances that due to concentrations can be classified as environmental pollutants. These substances can have marked adverse health effects on the individual when present in toxic concentration ranges. Excess accumulation of these elements can be determined in hair since hair does not have an excretion point. To investigate any such occurrences, scalp-hair samples were collected from male and female student volunteers (n = 183), aged between 20 and 23 years. These students were attending the Sudan University of Technology, but originated from four regions in Sudan. Elemental concentrations were quantitatively determined by X-ray emission. The study shows that the different inter-region and inter-gender results revealed alarming health effects of environmental pollution.