STUDY OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN SOME INDUSTRIAL AREA IN A.R.E. BY NUCLEAR AND RADIOLOGICAL TECHNIQUES

Abstract

Suspended particulate matter in air is recognized as a major pollutant which can have a pronounced effect on health and the environment. Toxic trace elements, such as Be, F, V, As, Se, Sb, Hg and Pb, are associated with air pollutants and are derived from a wide spectrum of natural and anthropogenic sources. The advent of mass industrialization and, in particular, the motor vehicle, brought two new dramatic increases in lead usage: as a component of lead-acid storage battery and from about 1923, as the organic lead alkyl "anti-knock" additive in petroleum. Occupational exposure to a wide range of lead compounds can involve inhalation and ingestion, and has been shown to affect memory and other mental functions in industrial workers at and above a blood level of around 30 g/dl. This level is commonly exceeded among the majority of workers in lead-using industries such as smelters and battery factories. Many workers in Cairo are exposed to high levels of lead. They carry

lead home on their clothing resulting in high lead exposure for their children.

In our study, the aerosol samples were collected from a factory of battery manufacture in Giza sector, produces batteries for automobile and trucks.

Tue purpose of the present work was to investigate the spatial distribution of atmospheric lead in the factory area. Nine sites in four major processes (indoor) and three sites (outdoor) were selected for air lead