WHAT CONTRIBUTION CAN BE MADE TO BIOLOGICAL MONITORING BY HAIR ANALYSIS .1.

Over the last decades there have been problems in hair analysis which have been the subject of great controversy. Great expectations were aroused for the results of hair analysis and new arguments were put forward to counter them. This meant that a method, which was applicable with certain reservations, was discredited over a long period. This publication attempts to describe the most important factors which can affect the analysis of trace elements in human hair. Analytical methods must take in account the development and morphology of human hair and the selective bonding of trace elements on the components of the hair. This involves a great deal of extra experimental complication which increases the costs considerably. However, economics should play a subsidiary role in the search for truth by chemical analysis. © 1990 Springer-Verlag.