Surreptitious lead exposure from an Asian Indian medication

A case of lead exposure resulting from the ingestion of a lead-containing medication is reported. The ingestion was detected during routine biological monitoring for lead exposure conducted on all workers of a lead-acid battery plant where the subject was employed. A case history, including the results of periodic blood lead, hemoglobin, and protoporphyrin analysis, and analysis of the medication, is provided. The discussion reviews the problem of leaded medications and emphasizes the need to carefully pursue suspected instances of outside exposure in lead workers as well as in the general public.