[Urinary excretion of beta 2 microglobulin in workers chronically exposed to various heavy metals].

Increased urinary excretion of beta-2-microglobulin (b2m) is regarded as one of the earliest indices of the lesion of renal tubules. A great usefulness of the determination of this protein has been demonstrated in workers chronically exposed to heavy metals. The investigations have been carried out in 79 workers chronically exposed to cadmium, 39 workers chronically exposed to mercury and 31 non-exposed subjects. The urinary b2m concentration in all subjects was determined using the radioimmunoassay technique. In their own investigations the authors found, in 27.8% of the cadmium-exposed subjects, an increased excretion of b2m, a correlation being found between the urinary concentration of this protein and cadmium r = 0.696. Mercury-exposed workers did not exhibit an increased urinary excretion of b2m.