Recommendations Maintain Good Occupational Hygiene Occupational exposure can be reduced by modifying manufacturing processes to reduce worker contact

with metal toxins, collecting and removing fumes, following proper hazardous waste management procedures, and substituting with safer materials/procedures when possible. Reduce General Exposure Exposure to metal toxins can also be reduced by understanding the sources of metal exposure and adopting strategies to reduce contact with them. First, become familiar with symptoms of toxicity and first aid procedures for ingestion of substances containing toxic metals Maintain Nutrient Sufficiency Since many toxic metals mimic nutritionally essential metals, they compete for the same transport mechanisms for absorption from the intestines and uptake into cells. Therefore, adequate intake of essential trace minerals may reduce toxic metal uptake. For example, nutritional zinc or iron deficiency can increase cadmium absorption and lead absorption from the gut appears to be blocked by calcium, iron, and zinc Selenium In addition to its role as a possible competitive inhibitor of mercury and lead absorption, selenium also increases toxic metal excretion. Selenium also appears to mitigate the toxicity of some heavy metals, such as cadmium, thallium, inorganic mercury, and methylmercury, by modulating their interaction with certain biomolecules Vitamin C Vitamin C is a free-radical scavenger that can protect against oxidative damage caused by lead, mercury and cadmium it may prevent the absorption of lead as well as inhibit its cellular uptake and decrease its cellular toxicity. The higher the blood levels of vitamin C the lower is that of lead Reference: Anonymous,(2013) Heavy Metal Detoxification retrieved fromhttp://www.lef.org/protocols/health_concerns/heavy_metal_detoxification_10.htm Introduction Heavy metal toxicity is common in Jamaica the major metals that poses threat includes lead, arsenic and cadmium etc. Scientists in central Jamaica have found dangerous levels of the potentially deadly heavy metals arsenic and cadmium in a number of farming communities in Manchester and St Elizabeth. Scientists from Northern Caribbean University's College of Natural

and Applied Sciences, say tests that they conducted on soil have revealed heavy metal soil contamination. The Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences Dr Vincent Wright from Northern Caribbean said that traces of these heavy metals are also found in plants. Cadmium is a known cancer-causing heavy metal, which can lead to softening of the bones and severe kidney problems. It is found in electronics, including batteries. In 2004, environmental scientists at the University of the West Indies (UWI) found a large concentration of lead in sections of Mona Commons and Kintyre, communities close to the UWI. A number of children were affected, and residents in the two communities were evacuated.(Tomblinson, R 2012 Jamaica Observer) Tomblinson, R(2012)Cancer in the soil.The Jamaica Obsever.Retrieved fromhttp://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Cancer-in-the-soil_11001453