Daily intake of manganese by the adult population of Mumbai

The daily intake of manganese Mn. estimated through air, water and duplicate dietary analysis is found to range from 0.67 to 4.99 mg with a mean value of 2.21 mg. Ingestion through food contributed to the predominant fraction of the intake. The turnover rate of Mn through blood is approximately 2 h, based on the mean concentration of Mn in blood of 1.54 mg ly1. The average concentrations of Mn in water and air were approximately 1.42 mg ly1 and 37 ng my3, respectively. The daily intake of Mn by the adult population of Mumbai is closer to the lower bound of the recommended limit of 2]5 mg. Electro Thermal Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry ET-AAS., has been used for the determination of Mn in a variety of environmental and human biological fluids. The detection limit of Mn for a volume injection of 20 ml is 2 pg absolute. The precision of the method is established by analyzing a synthetic mixture containing various elements in different quantities 0.5]10 ppm. and is found to be within "8%. The reliability of estimation is further assessed through the analysis of Standard Reference Materials SRMs. of soil, hay, milk powder and fish tissue obtained from IAEA.