• Joo Hyun Sung, Inbo Oh, Ahra Kim, Jiho Lee, Chang Sun Sim, Cheolin Yoo, Sang Jin Park, Geun Bae Kim, and Yangho Kim.
• Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Gyeongsang National University Changwon Hospital, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Changwon, Korea.
• J. Korean Med. Sci. 2018 Jan 29; 33 (5): e33.

BackgroundIndustrial pollution may affect the heavy metal body burden of people living near industrial complexes. We determined the average concentrations of atmospheric heavy metals in areas close to and distant from industrial complexes in Korea, and the body concentrations of these heavy metals in residents living near and distant from these facilities.MethodsThe atmospheric data of heavy metals (lead and cadmium) were from the Regional Air Monitoring Network in Ulsan. We recruited 1,148 participants, 872 who lived near an industrial complex ("exposed" group) and 276 who lived distant from industrial complexes ("non-exposed" group), and measured their concentrations of blood lead, urinary cadmium, and urinary total mercury.ResultsThe results showed that atmospheric and human concentrations of heavy metals were higher in areas near industrial complexes. In addition, residents living near industrial complexes had higher individual and combined concentrations (cadmium + lead + mercury) of heavy metals.ConclusionWe conclude that residents living near industrial complexes are exposed to high concentrations of heavy metals, and should be carefully monitored.© 2018 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

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