The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between lead, cadmium, zinc, and copper contents in the children's head hair and the level of environmental exposure in the subject's place of residence. The studied population was a group of 93 children (62 boys and 31 girls), aged 5-16, living in contaminated regions of the Copper Basin Legnica ("Exposed Group"). The control ("Reference Group") consisted of 66 children (35 boys and 31 girls), aged 6-16, inhabiting non - contaminated rural areas of the Wielkopolska region. The studied material was head hair taken from the occipital scalp. The contents of metals in the hair were determined using the atomic absorption spectrometry method. It was found that the mean contents of lead and cadmium in the hair were significantly higher in the "Exposed" children (7.16 mgPb/g and 0.44 mgCd/g) versus the "Reference Group" (2.49 mgPb/g and 0.23 mgCd/g).
The mean contents of zinc and copper in the hair were not statistically different between the studied populations. Moreover, some positive and negative correlations between pairs of elements in the hair were found.