Lead exposure from conventional and cottage lead smelting in Jamaica

A survey was conducted to determine the distribution and determinants of environmental and blood lead levels near a conventional and several cottage lead smelters and to assess the relationship between environmental and blood lead levels in a tropical, developing-country setting. Fifty-eight households were studied in the Red Pond community, the site of the established smelter and several backyard smelters, and 21 households were studied in the adjacent, upwind Ebony Vale community in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica. Households were investigated, using questionnaires, soil and housedust lead measurements, and blood lead (PbB) measurements from 372 residents. Soil lead levels in Red Pond exceeded 500 parts per million (ppm) at 24% of households (maximum--18,600 ppm), compared to 0% in Ebony Vale (maximum 150 ppm). Geometric mean PbB in Red Pond, where 44% of children less than 6 years of age had PbB levels greater than or equal to 25 micrograms per deciliter (micrograms/dL), was more than twice that Ebony Vale in all age groups (p less than 0.0005). Within Red Pond, proximity to backyard smelters and to the conventional smelter were independent predictors of soil lead (p less than 0.05). Soil lead was the strongest predictor of PbB among Red Pond subjects under 12 years of age. The blood lead--soil lead relationship in children differed from that reported in developed countries; blood lead levels were higher than expected for the household-specific soil lead levels that were observed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)