Introduction: Coinage industry is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used as currency. Many metals are used in this industry as: Copper, Aluminum, Nickel, Zinc, Silver, and Gold. Aim of Work: To study the health hazards among workers engaged in the manufacture of coinage industry with special emphasis on the health effects due to the exposure to Copper and Aluminum.
Materials and Methods: The study population consisted of forty-two personnel engaged in one of coinage industry factory in Cairo /Egypt and were exposed to copper and aluminium; and a comparison group of 42 no exposed personnel . A medical history was taken physical examination and laboratory investigations including serum copper and aluminum, CBC, urea, creatinine and liver enzymes (AST/ALT) were done.
Results: The present study showed adverse health effects among the exposed workers including some hematological manifestations, allergy, eye and skin symptoms, abdominal pain in addition to bone ache and memory problems. Laboratory investigations revealed statistically significant higher copper and aluminium levels in the exposed group's serum compared to the control group. As regards liver and kidney function tests; despite being within normal range of value but statistically significant differences were found being higher among the exposed group. Complete blood count values including hemoglobin , platelet and total leucocytic count were within normal values but total leucocytic count was found statistically significantly low among the exposed group. Conclusion and Recommendations: The study detected elevations of serum copper and aluminium among the exposed workers in coinage industry associated with some adverse health effects. Medical exams before hiring and on a regular basis for personnel who are exposed including clinical examination and measurement of serum level of copper and aluminum, CBC, liver, and kidney functions tests.