Brief communication: Choice of washing method of hair samples for trace element analysis in environmental studies

Determination of inseparable exogenous and endogenous levels of toxic trace elements such as lead in human scalp hair has been used to understand and assess population exposure to such elements. For any such analysis, washing of the hair samples to remove superficial contamination is the foremost requirement. However, the use of such washing methods prior to elemental analysis removes minute quantities of trace elements from the hair strands....