Metal(loid)s (MLs) with natural or anthropogenic sources may cause adverse health effects in children. This study aimed to compare the childhood exposure to ΣMLs (essential, non-essential and toxic) in an industrial and an urban area in Southwest Iran using toenail tissue as a biomarker. The present study was carried out with school children in the age range of 7–12 years, who were living in an industrial area in the petrochemical and gas area (PGA) of the Central District of Asaluyeh County and in an urban area (UA) located in the Kaki District. A total of 270 boys and girls were recruited in January to April 2019. The ICP-MS was used for determination of the studied MLs. A multi-linear regression model was constructed to assess the effect of residence area on toenail ML levels. A significantly higher level of ΣMLs in toenail from the PGA was observed compared to the level in the UA (8.839 vs. 7.081 μg/g, β = -0.169 and p < 0.05). However, all of the 15 MLs studied were detected in the toenail samples from both study sites. Significant differences for the mean Cr (β = −0.563), Fe (β = −0.968), Mn (β = −0.501), Ni (β = −0.306), and Pb (β = −0.377) levels were found between toenail samples from the study areas (p < 0.05), with higher levels in the PGA. The results of this study suggest that children in industrial area are prone to a greater risk for ML exposures compared with those living in a non-industrial urban area.

具有天然或人为来源的金属（类）物质 (ML) 可能会对儿童的健康造成不利影响。本研究旨在使用脚趾甲组织作为生物标志物，比较伊朗西南部工业区和城市地区儿童对 ΣMLs（必需、非必需和有毒）的暴露情况。本研究是针对年龄在 7-12 岁之间的学童进行的，他们居住在 Asaluyeh 县中心区石化和天然气区 (PGA) 的工业区和市区 (UA)位于加木区。2019 年 1 月至 4 月共招募了 270 名男孩和女孩。 ICP-MS 用于测定所研究的 ML。构建了一个多元线性回归模型来评估居住面积对脚趾甲 ML 水平的影响。β  = -0.169 且p  < 0.05）。然而，在两个研究地点的脚趾甲样本中都检测到了所研究的所有 15 种 ML。 在脚趾甲之间发现了平均 Cr ( β  = -0.563)、Fe ( β  = -0.968)、 Mn ( β  = -0.501)、 Ni ( β  = -0.306) 和 Pb ( β = -0.377) 水平的显着差异来自研究区域的样本 ( p  < 0.05)，在 PGA 中的水平较高。这项研究的结果表明，与生活在非工业城市地区的儿童相比，工业地区的儿童更容易受到 ML 暴露的影响。