Comparison of blood lead levels between battery recycling workers and controls in Northern Nigeria

About 80% of the global lead production is consumed by the battery industry. As old batteries are increasingly being recycled without adequate recourse to safety and protection in many developing countries, there is well-documented evidence of lead poisoning among the workers. This study compared blood lead levels (BLL) of battery recycling workers (BRW) with controls in Northern Nigeria. This cross-sectional study assessed the BLL of BRW (self-employed informal workers, n = 98) and controls (healthcare workers, n = 98). Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling from the lists of BRW and healthcare workers. All respondents in the two groups were males, matched for age (27.81 ± 7.2, 27.67 ± 7.0 years; p = 0.890). The mean BLL was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among the BRW compared to the controls (40.17 ± 4.2 and 3.61 ± 0.4 µg/dL, respectively), with 78.1% of the BRW having elevated BLL (≥20.0 µg/dL) and none (0.0%) of the controls having elevated BLL. Logistic regression shows none of the variables was an independent predictor of BLL in this study, implying battery reclamation as the main source of lead. Federal and state government policies should ban informal battery recycling and emphasize on plants through national collection system to consolidate used batteries only to smelters that meet minimum regulatory requirements.