Vanadium levels in urine and cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and normal persons.

Vanadium was determined by radiochemical neutron activation analysis (RNAA) with proven accuracy in urine of workers occupationally exposed to vanadium-rich dust in a vanadium pentoxide production plant, and values in the range of 3.02-762 ng/mL (median 33.0 ng/mL) were found. In a control group consisting of administrative workers of the plant, urinary vanadium levels were found in the range of 1.05-53.4 ng/mL (median 2.53 ng/mL), whereas in an another control group of occupationally nonexposed persons, these values amounted to 0.066-0.489 ng/mL (median 0.212 ng/mL). Accuracy of the results was tested by analysis of reference material IAEA A-13 Animal Blood and NIST SRM-1515 Apple Leaves, and very good agreement was found with literature and the NIST certified values, respectively. Unlike urine, no significant differences were found for cystine levels in fingernails and hair of exposed and control persons.