Child lead exposure near abandoned lead acid battery recycling sites in a residential community in Bangladesh: risk factors and the impact of soil remediation on blood lead levels

Objectives. To evaluate trends in blood lead levels among children in Chicago from 1968 through 1988, and to determine the impact of the changes in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) blood lead level of concern. Methods. We reviewed a systematic sample of blood lead screening records of the Chicago Department of Health Laboratory for high-risk children aged 6 months to 5 years. Median blood lead levels for each quarter of the years 1974 through 1988 were determined and regressed against mean air lead levels recorded at air-monitoring stations in Chicago during the same period. Results. Median blood lead levels declined from 30 µg/dL in 1968 to 12 µg/dL in 1988, and were strongly associated with declining average air lead levels (r = .8, P < .001) from 1974 through 1988. A regression model using log-transformed data predicted a decline of 0.56 µg/dL in the median blood lead level with each 0.1 µg/m3 decline in the mean air lead level when the air lead level was near 1.0 µg/m3; the predicted slope was steeper at lower air lead levels. Despite the nearly 20-fold reduction in air lead levels, the median blood lead level of 12 µg/dL in 1988 indicates substantial continuing lead exposure. The CDC blood lead level of concern was lowered twice from 1968 to 1988, but due to the decline in blood lead levels, fewer than 30% of the children were above the level of concern throughout most of the study. Conclusion. Although substantial lead exposure persists in Chicago, reductions in airborne lead emissions seem to have contributed to a long-term decline in the median blood lead level of high-risk Chicago children.

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Environmental Lead Exposure among Preschool Children in Shanghai, China: Blood Lead Levels and Risk Factors

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0113297 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e113297 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Jia Cao ◽

Minming Li ◽

Yu Wang ◽

Guangjun Yu ◽

Chonghuai Yan

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Preschool Children ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Environmental Lead ◽

Lead Levels ◽

Environmental Lead Exposure

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Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead exposure among pregnant women in western French Guiana: the role of manioc consumption

Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A ◽

10.1080/15287394.2017.1331490 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 80 (6) ◽

pp. 382-393 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Diane Rimbaud ◽

Marion Restrepo ◽

Anne Louison ◽

Rachida Boukhari ◽

Vanessa Ardillon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

French Guiana ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Lead Levels

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Assessing Levels of Lead Contamination in Soil and Predicting Pediatric Blood Lead Levels in Tema, Ghana

Journal of Health and Pollution ◽

10.5696/2156-9614-3.5.7 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (5) ◽

pp. 7-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Innocent Joy Kwame Aboh ◽

Manukure Atiemo Sampson ◽

Leticia Abra-Kom Nyaab ◽

Jack Caravanos ◽

Francis Gorman Ofosu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Chemistry ◽

Lead Contamination ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Lead Acid Battery ◽

Battery Recycling ◽

Industrial Soil ◽

Regulatory Limits ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The U.S

Background. Tema, Ghana's main industrial city, has many areas that are suspected to be contaminated by lead. Elevated lead levels can affect, among many other issues, mental development, kidney function and blood chemistry. Children are particularly at risk. Objectives. The objective of this study was to determine the concentration of lead in soil from selected sites in Tema and how these levels relate to local pediatric blood lead predictions. Methods. A total of 47 surface soil samples were taken from 9 different sites. Energy dispersive X-ray technique was employed to determine the levels of lead. Pediatric blood lead levels were estimated using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Bio-Kinetic Model For Lead in Children, developed by the U.S. EPA. Results. The study revealed that the selected sites are highly contaminated by lead. In particular, the concentration of Pb in soil at a used lead acid battery recycling facility exceeded regulatory limits for industrial soil as set by the U.S. EPA. The model for predicting concentrations of lead in the blood of age-specific children showed extremely high probabilities of BLLs exceeding regulatory limits. Conclusions. Based on the results of soil testing, sites that were expected to reveal lead exposure positively demonstrated high levels of contamination, in some areas exceeding U.S. and other national regulatory limits. This information is expected to help authorities make informed clean-up decisions.

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Study protocol to examine the relationship between environmental exposure to lead and blood lead levels among children from day-care centres in Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2019-036687 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. e036687

Author(s):

Mbalenhle Desiree Cindi ◽

Thokozani Patrick Mbonane ◽

Nisha Naicker

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Day Care ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Scientific Conference ◽

Environmental Lead ◽

Lead Levels ◽

Day Care Centres ◽

Environmental Lead Exposure

IntroductionLead exposure is toxic to all humans and is very harmful to young children, especially 5-year-olds. Elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children have been associated with their daily surrounding environment. This protocol seeks to evaluate the association between environmental lead exposure and BLLs among children in day-care centres, including household and other risk factors.Methods and analysisTo achieve the objectives of the study, we adopted a cross-sectional analytical design. A portable X-ray fluorescence analyser was used for environmental sampling, and BLLs were determined using the LeadCare II machine among preschool children. Household and other risk factors were assessed using a questionnaire. Random sampling was employed to select day-care centres in the municipality and children in each day-care centre. Data will be analysed using SPSS V. 26.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval and permission were obtained prior to commencement of the study. The researcher intends to publish the results in peer-reviewed journals and also to present a paper at a scientific conference. The study will generate information on environmental lead exposure among vulnerable children (2–5 years), and it will promote public health action to prevent long-term exposure in day-care centres.

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Child Exposure to Lead in the Vicinities of Informal Used Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Operations in Nairobi Slums, Kenya

Journal of Health and Pollution ◽

10.5696/2156-9614-6.12.15 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 6 (12) ◽

pp. 15-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maureene Auma Ondayo ◽

Gelas Muse Simiyu ◽

Phillip Okoth Raburu ◽

Faridah Hussein Were

Keyword(s):

Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Soil Samples ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Lead Acid Battery ◽

Child Exposure ◽

Battery Recycling ◽

Preparatory Schools ◽

Lead Levels ◽

Floor Dust

Background. Child exposure to lead from informal used lead-acid battery (ULAB) recycling operations is a serious environmental health problem, particularly in developing countries. Objectives. We investigated child exposure to lead in the vicinities of ULAB recycling operations in the Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru slums in Nairobi between January and August 2015. Methods. Top soil (n = 232) and floor dust (n = 322) samples were collected from dwelling units (n = 120) and preparatory schools (n = 44) and analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer at the Mines and Geological Department Laboratory in the Ministry of Mining, Nairobi. From the obtained lead levels in soil and house dust, child blood lead levels were subsequently predicted using the Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic Model for Lead in Children (IEUBK), Windows version. Results. Lead loadings in all the floor dust samples from the Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru slums exceeded the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidance value for lead on floors with a range of 65.2 – 58,194 μg/ft2. Control floor dust samples recorded lower lead loadings compared to the Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru slums. Lead concentration in 70.7% of the soil samples collected from waste dumps, industrial sites, residential areas, playgrounds and preparatory schools in Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru exceeded the respective USEPA guidance values for lead in soils. Lead concentration in 100% of control soil samples were below the respective USEPA limits. The IEUBK model predicted that nearly 99.9% of children ≤ 7 years old living near informal ULAB recycling operations in Dandora, Kariobangi and Mukuru were at risk of being lead poisoned, with predicted blood lead levels (BLL) above the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reference value for blood lead. A total of 99.9% of exposed children living in the Mukuru slums are likely to have BLL above 34 μg/dL. Conclusions. There is a need for coordinated efforts to decrease lead emissions from informal battery recycling in Nairobi slums and to remediate existing soils, particularly around battery workplaces and dumpsites. The BLL of local children should be clinically tested and appropriate intervention measures taken.

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Sex-Dependent Impact of Low-Level Lead Exposure during Prenatal Period on Child Psychomotor Functions

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph15102263 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 15 (10) ◽

pp. 2263 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Kinga Polanska ◽

Wojciech Hanke ◽

Natalia Pawlas ◽

Ewelina Wesolowska ◽

Agnieszka Jankowska ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cord Blood ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Psychomotor Development ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Prenatal Period ◽

Low Level ◽

Child Neurodevelopment ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The Impact

The impact of exposure to lead on child neurodevelopment has been well established. However, sex differences in vulnerability are still not fully explained. We aimed at evaluating the effect of a low-level lead exposure, as measured between 20 to 24 weeks of pregnancy and in cord blood, on developmental scores up to 24 months of age in 402 children from the Polish Mother and Child Cohort (REPRO_PL). Additionally, sex-dependent susceptibility to lead at this very early stage of psychomotor development was assessed. The blood lead levels were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In order to estimate the children’s neurodevelopment, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development was applied. The geometric mean (GM) for blood lead level during 20–24 weeks of pregnancy was 0.99 ± 0.15 µg/dL and, in the cord blood, it was 0.96 ± 0.16 µg/dL. There was no statistically significant impact of lead exposure during prenatal period on the girls’ psychomotor abilities. Among the boys, we observed lower scores for cognitive functions, along with increasing cord blood lead levels (β = −2.07; p = 0.04), whereas the results for the language and motor abilities were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Our findings show that fetal exposure to very low lead levels might affect early cognitive domain, with boys being more susceptible than girls. Education on health, higher public awareness, as well as intervention programs, along with relevant regulations, are still needed to reduce risks for the vulnerable population subgroups.

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