Lead detection in blood of the Bali cattle that were slaughtered in the traditional slaughterhouses in Denpasar, Bali

ABSTRACT Lead contamination in the body of the cattle was thought initially to be coming from the feed and the environment in which the cattle were maintained. When a human consumes more than 2.0 ppm of lead-contaminated beef, it could cause damage to various organs, and also lower cognitive abilities. This study aims to determine the amount of heavy metal lead in the blood of Bali cattle which were slaughtered in a traditional slaughterhouse in Denpasar. Blood plasma samples from 20 Bali cattle were taken randomly and used for this study. The blood stored in 10ml tubes which were flled with 0.5% Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) previously. The lead content measurement was conducted by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) method. From the measurement result, it was obtained that the average lead content was 7.35±4.33 ppm. There was a blood sample that did not contain any lead. The lead content of this result is higher than in the cattle from Suwung Landfll Denpasar, which was 6.60±1.85 ppm, as the result of our research previously. This result shows that lead contamination does not only originate from the place in which the cattle were raised. However, other risk factors can contribute to it and thus further investigation is needed. Nonetheless, it can be concluded that the level of lead contamination in blood plasma of Bali cattle which were slaughtered in a traditional slaughterhouse is 7.35±4.33 ppm. There is the need to do a further study about the risk factors of lead contamination in the blood of Bali cattle. Keywords: lead, Bali cattle, blood plasma.