Screening Housing to Prevent Lead Toxicity in Children

Objective. Screening children to identify those with blood lead levels ⩾10 μg/d fails to protect children from lead-associated cognitive deficits and behavioral problems. To broaden our efforts at primary prevention, screening criteria are needed to identify lead-contaminated housing before children are unduly exposed. The purpose of this study was to identify and validate housing characteristics associated with children having elevated blood lead levels (⩾10 μg/dl). Methods. Two existing studies were used to examine housing characteristics linked with undue lead exposure: a cross-sectional study of 205 children aged 12 to 31 months, and a random sample from a longitudinal study of 276 children followed from 6 to 24 months of age. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association of children's blood lead levels >10 μg/dl. Results. The mean age of the 481 children was 17.8 months; 99 (20.6%) had a blood lead concentration of 10 μg/dl or higher. The following characteristics were associated with blood lead concentration >10 μg/dl: floor lead loading >15 μg/ft2 (odds ratio [OR]=2.2; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3, 3.8); rental housing (OR=3.2; 95% CI 1.3, 7.6); poor housing condition (OR=2.1; CI 1.2, 3.6); African American race (OR=3.3; CI 1.9, 6.1); paint chip ingestion (OR=5.8; CI 1.3, 26.5); and soil ingestion (OR=2.2; CI 1.1, 4.2). Housing characteristics including rental status, lead-contaminated floor dust, and housing condition had a range of sensitivity from 47% to 92%; specificity from 28% to 76%; a positive predictive value from 25% to 34%; and a negative predictive value of 85% to 93%. Conclusions. Housing characteristics and floor dust lead levels can be used to screen housing to identify lead hazards prior to occupancy, before purchasing a home, or after renovation to prevent children's exposure to lead hazards.

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Predicting the Children's Blood Lead Level in a Lead and Zinc Smelting Area Based on IEUBK Model

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1092-1093.687 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1092-1093 ◽

pp. 687-691

Author(s):

Fei Chen ◽

Hong Guang Cheng ◽

Xiang Fen Cui

Keyword(s):

Lead Concentration ◽

Lead Level ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Prediction Ability ◽

Environmental Lead ◽

Lead And Zinc ◽

Zinc Smelting ◽

Lead Levels

According to environmental lead exposure data and dietary survey data of lead and zinc smelting area,blood lead levels of children (2~7years old) in study area were predicted with IEUBK model. The children's blood lead concentration predicted value was compared with the corresponding measured value,by comparing the differences, measured the prediction ability of model. The results showed that predicted value and measured value of 2~7 years old children's blood lead concentration in A village were higher than the other villages, they were 33.5μg/dL,30.8μg/dL, respectively; predicted value and measured value of 2~7 years old children's blood lead concentration in I village were the lowest among all villages,they were14.5μg/dL,13.1μg/dL, respectively.By paired T-test showed that the predicted value were higher than the measured value about 1.4~3.4μg/dL,model calculation results slightly overestimated the children's blood lead level.But in general, the predicted value and measured value had a good consistency,through the model prediction could better reflect the children's blood lead levels in the study area.

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Fetal and Infant Lead Exposure: Effects on Growth in Stature

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.84.4.604 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 84 (4) ◽

pp. 604-612

Author(s):

Rakesh Shukla ◽

Robert L. Bornschein ◽

Kim N. Dietrich ◽

C. R. Buncher ◽

Omer G. Berger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Rate ◽

Longitudinal Analysis ◽

Lead Exposure ◽

Growth Rates ◽

Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Maternal Blood ◽

Blood Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Lead Levels

The growth of a cohort of 260 infants was prospectively followed up from birth. Blood lead and stature measurements were obtained every 3 months until 15 months of age. Fetal lead exposure was indexed by measuring lead in maternal blood during pregnancy. A longitudinal analysis revealed that covariate adjusted growth rates in stature were negatively related to the infants' postnatal blood lead concentration, as indexed by increase in average blood lead values from 3 to 15 months. However, this relationship between growth rate and change in blood lead concentration was evidenced only among those infants whose mothers had prenatal blood lead levels greater than the maternal cohort median of 7.7 γg/dL (P = .01). The expected stature of a child born to a mother with a prenatal blood lead concentration more than 7.7 γg/dL is about 2 cm shorter at 15 months of age if, postnatally, the infant incurred a 10-γg/dL blood lead increase during the 3-to 15-month interval of life, compared with an infant who has no increase.

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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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Too Much Lead, Too Little Iron

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.82.3.395 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 82 (3) ◽

pp. 395-395

Author(s):

MARGARET CLARK

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Iron Deficiency ◽

Lead Poisoning ◽

Predictive Value ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

The Public ◽

Erythrocyte Protoporphyrin ◽

Lead Levels

In Reply.— We appreciate the work of Carraccio et al which confirms our findings that the anemia found in children with lead poisoning results from coexistent iron deficiency. The discrepancy between the two studies concerning the predictive value of blood lead in elevations of erythrocyte protoporphyrin bears further exploration. What is striking, however, is that in both series more than 50% of the variability in erythrocyte protoporphyrin remains unexplained. Now the public health focus is on detecting children with low blood lead levels—before even subtle CNS damage has occurred.

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Use of a Cumulative Exposure Index to Estimate the Impact of Tap Water Lead Concentration on Blood Lead Levels in 1- to 5-Year-Old Children (Montréal, Canada)

Environmental Health Perspectives ◽

10.1289/ehp.1409144 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 124 (3) ◽

pp. 388-395 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Gerard Ngueta ◽

Belkacem Abdous ◽

Robert Tardif ◽

Julie St-Laurent ◽

Patrick Levallois

Keyword(s):

Lead Concentration ◽

Tap Water ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Cumulative Exposure ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Exposure Index ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The Impact

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Estimating the impact of drinking water lead concentration on blood lead levels in children aged 1-5 years by using a cumulative index of exposure.

ISEE Conference Abstracts ◽

10.1289/isee.2013.p-1-14-06 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 (1) ◽

pp. 4575

Author(s):

Ngueta Gerard ◽

Patrick Levallois ◽

Michèle Prévost ◽

Robert Tardif ◽

Belkacem Abdous

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Cumulative Index ◽

Index Of Exposure ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The Impact

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520 Relationship between blood lead concentration and free protoporphirin in erythrocytes in workers exposed to low lead levels

Toxicology Letters ◽

10.1016/s0378-4274(03)90519-4 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 144 ◽

pp. s139-s140

Author(s):

Z. Paskalev ◽

D. Aposolova ◽

S. Pavlova ◽

D. Adjaraov

Keyword(s):

Lead Concentration ◽

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Concentration ◽

Lead Levels

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Blood Lead Levels in a Rural Population: Relative Elevations Among Migrant Farmworker Children

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.64.4.540 ◽

1979 ◽

Vol 64 (4) ◽

pp. 540-542 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

James M. Perrin ◽

Mark J. Merkens

Keyword(s):

Blood Lead ◽

Blood Lead Levels ◽

Community Size ◽

Urban Settings ◽

Urban Group ◽

Apparent Correlation ◽

Lead Levels ◽

The Mean ◽

Lead Hazards ◽

Rural Group

Most reports of lead poisoning or exposure to lead hazards have been from urban settings, with the epidemiology of elevated blood leads in rural populations remaining unclear. When urban and suburban populations are compared, higher levels are consistently found in urban settings. A study of smaller illinois cities (10,000 to 150,000 population) found blood lead elevations in 10% to 30% of the children evaluated, with no apparent correlation between community size and mean levels.1 Cohen and her colleagues2 reported that, although the mean blood level in a rural group was lower than in an urban group, 9% of children in their rural group had blood lead levels of 40 µg/100 ml or higher.

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