Assessment of Lead Contamination in Different Samples Around the Industrial Vicinity in Selected Areas of Bangladesh

Lead has long been recognized as a poison to living organisms, with negative effects on general health, reproduction, behavior and mental growth. Drinking water, surface water, industrial waste water, agricultural soil and egg samples were collected to determine the presence of lead. Twenty samples (3-5 g) from each category were collected and detected by Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (FAAS) to detect the natural deposition of lead. The analysis of variance of mean lead concentration among different samples in different locations differed significantly (P<0.01). The highest mean values of lead accumulation in drinking water, industrial waste water and agricultural soil samples, collected from Norshindi district was detected as 0.064±0.021ml/kg, 95.735±9.593ml/kg and 119.033±9.853 mg/kg respectively. The highest mean value of lead (0.622±0.096 mg/L) in surface water was significantly (P<0.01) present in Narayangonj district and significantly (P<0.01) higher than other selected areas. Analysis of variance of data on chicken eggs revealed significant (P<0.001) difference in egg albumen, egg yolk and egg shell. The highest mean values of lead were 0.066±0.003mg/kg, 0.089±0.010mg/kg and 0.251±0.032 mg/kg in egg albumen, egg yolk and egg shell in Norshindi. The natural accumulation of lead in Drinking water, egg albumen and egg yolk was found at tolerance level but the cumulative accumulation may bring the serious public health hazards. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjvm.v12i1.20468 Bangl. J. Vet. Med . (2014). 12 (1): 83-89