Investigation of copper concentration in the blood of workers working in copper mines

Abstract: Mining has been one of the most dangerous job since early ages. Many miners lost their lives as a result of both mine accidents and occupational diseases caught by underground mine workers. The aim of this study is to determine the heavy metal accumulation in the body and the factors affecting it as a result of exposures of the copper mine workers. Between 2008 and 2017, the heavy metals detected in the blood tests of all workers working in the copper mine and heavy metal ratios were examined. After a total of 1621 blood tests results performed over a 10-year period, copper concentrations in the blood of all employees were examined. The amount of copper in the blood of the mine workers was transferred to the computer and analyzed as a factor of year, age group, working time, working area and working unit. The results were analyzed using by MATLAB 2018 program. In this study, it was found that the amount of copper in the blood of inexperienced workers exceeded the limit value of 140 µgr/dL which was determined by the World Health Organization (WHO) and higher than the other workers. It has been found that the copper concentration in the blood is the highest among the workers who are 31-40 years old group depending on long exposure period. Another result obtained from this study is that the copper concentraiton in the blood of underground workers is much higher than other workers. Keywords: Copper, heavy metal, Wilson's disease, copper mine Year, 2019. Pages: 71 Science Code: 2.069