A Comparative Health Assessment of Occupationally Lead Exposed Individuals with Blood Lead Levels Range across Upper
Kuldip Upadhyay1, Ankit Viramgami2, Rakesh Balachandar2
1Division of Occupational Hygiene, ICMR-National Institute of Occupational Health, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
Context:
Lead (Pb) smelting workers are exposed to high lead levels and its adverse health effects. Despite no biological role, regulatory bodies regard blood lead levels (BLL) ≤40 µg/dL as upper acceptable limit in occupationally lead exposed population.
Objective:
To explore the differences in general health status of individuals with BLL ≤40 µg/dL and >40 µg/dL.
Methods:
All workers (n = 803) of age >18 years employed in a Pb smelting plant were interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire to obtain sociodemographics, occupational details, followed by detailed clinical examination. 5 ml of venous blood was collected and BLLs were determined as per standard NIOSH method using GF-AAS technic. A complete general health status was performed including hemoglobin and blood pressure (BP).
Results:
About 47.7% of the participants exhibited high BLL (>40 µg/dL), while the rest 52.3% were identified to have ≤40 µg/dL. Both groups were grossly similar in the majority of demographic and occupational parameters. Interestingly, both groups had substantially higher fraction of workers with elevated BP.
Conclusions:
Lead exposed workers with BLL ≤40 µg/dL are at equal risk of health hazards as those with BLL >40 µg/dL. There is a need to revisit the current guidelines on the BLL for workers to protect from the hazards of chronic lead exposure.
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