Introduction: 

Heavy metals dangerous for organism commonly occur in the environment (industrial exhalations, dyes, ceramics products) what leads to increasing number of health damages caused by them. We focused on the occurrence of heavy metals in umbilical blood (UB).

Method: 

UB of patients was processed by KBr pellet technique. Pellets (200mg of spectrally pure KBr and 1-10mg UB) were transparent in infrared region what enabled us to take infrared absorption spectra in FIR, MIR, NIR regions with FTIR spectrometer Perkin Elmer Spectrum BX from 6000 to 200 cm^-1. Metal compounds can be detected from IR spectrum most of all in the FIR region (library of spectra [1]).

Results: 

We proved occurrence of arsenic in form of As₂O₃ (doublet between 330 and 350 cm^-1) and lead in form of Pb₃O₄ (singlet band 670 cm^-1).

Conclusion: 

We assume occurrence of As and Pb in UB to be a result of inhaling air polluted with fall having its origin in production of technical glass-plumbiferous glass purified by arsenic compounds. Sublimation of the added raw material above the hot surface of smelting glass gives rise to aerosol that becomes a part of exhalations.

Funding: VEGA 1/3068/06 and APVV 0267-06

[1] Bentley, F.F., et al.: Infrared spectra and characteristic frequencies~700300cm^-1. New York: Interscience Publishers, 1968