Cadmium,copper, lead and zinc in bovine hair in the new lead belt of missouri

Summary The levels of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn were determined in washed hair samples from four test cows exposed to multiple lead production sources of contamination and four control cows that were not exposed. Cadmium and lead were found in significantly higher concentrations in the hair collected from the test cows than in the hair of the control cows. The mean concentration of Cd in the summer sample from the test cows' hair was approximately 16 times higher than that of the control cows, and the Pb concentration in hair of the test cows was approximately 75 times higher than that of the control cows. The hair concentrations of Cd, Pb and Zn were significantly affected by season and Cu and Zn concentrations varied significantly among the cows on each farm. There was no relationship between hair and milk lead concentrations. Reduction in lead exposure was reflected more rapidly in blood than in hair concentrations. These results demonstrate the value of using bovine hair samples in surveillance of environmental contamination, as well as other ecologic, epidemiologic and mineral metabolism research.This work was supported by contract 68-02-0092 from the Environmental Protection Agency.