Effects of welding on contents of blood essential elements among welding workers exposed to manganese

Objective: To explore the effect of the welding on the contents of blood essential elements in the workers. Methods: 82 welding workers and 61 control workers were chosen as subjects. The content of blood manganese was determined by graphite stove atomic absorption method. The contents of blood copper,iron,zinc,magnesium and calcium were determined by flame atomic absorption method. Results: The contents of blood manganese and magnesium in welding workers were significantly higher than that in the control(P0.01orP0.05) . The content of blood zinc in welding workers was significantly lower than that in the control(P0.05) .There was no significant difference in contents of blood copper,iron and calcium . Conclusion: The content of blood manganese of welding workers could be increased, and then the content of blood zinc may be lowered, but the content of blood magnesium may be enhanced.