The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA)  has said the agency is working on a test kit for early detection of heavy metal.

Mr Mustapha said this on Tuesday in Abuja.

Heavy metal is a broad term describing a group of naturally occurring metallic elements of high molecular weight and density compared to water.

Studies show that some heavy metals, which could be considered most dangerous to human beings, are lead, calcium, mercury and arsenic.

He said, “Remember the problem we had in Zamfara State, lead poisoning. That would have been averted through early detection. Therefore, we are developing a test kit for early detection of lead poisoning. There is a dosage that is supposed to be in the human body; the moment it is higher than normal, then it can lead to severe illness.

“Early detection is for those living and operating in areas such as mining sites, as well as those that are interacting commercially with people living in such areas.”

The DG explained that it would be easy to detect heavy metal in the blood through the test kit the agency was developing.

“Detecting the concentration of heavy metal through the test kit and realising when it is above the normal threshold will enable the affected individual to seek medical attention.

“It is part of early healthcare prevention because all the people working around that environment are prone to the high dosage of heavy metal.”

He said whenever there was suspicion that an environment was polluted with heavy metal, the test kit could be used to track and detect it.

He assured the public that the kits would be produced in large quantities and deployed to the healthcare system in the affected areas when the studies were completed.

He added that such would give people the opportunity to check up for heavy metal in their blood. 

(NAN)