Lead content of water and of reconstituted infant formula in Vienna

Daily lead intake from infant formula was estimated for young infants living in Vienna based on determinations of the lead concentration of drinking water and powdered formulas. The lead concentration in water was higher in houses built before 1945 (median 15.6 micrograms/l) than in houses built between 1945 and 1965 (median 4.4 micrograms/l) and in houses built after 1965 (median 2.8 micrograms/l). Boiling water for 1 min substantially reduced (p less than 0.0005) the lead concentration in water from all houses, apparently because of the coprecipitation of lead with boiler scale. The mean lead concentration in infant formula powder (n = 36) was 161.8 (SD 103.7) micrograms/kg. The lead concentration of an 'average' reconstituted infant formula, calculated using the mean lead concentration of boiled water (5.4 micrograms/l) and of formula powder, was 27.5 micrograms/l. This corresponded to 4.1 micrograms/100 kcal, which was substantially below the FDA maximum value of 16 micrograms/100 kcal. The lead concentration in the fat-free mass of a hypothetical young infant was estimated, assuming formula as the only source of lead and average values for caloric intake and retention of ingested lead. Between 0 and 4 months the estimated lead concentration in the fat-free mass declined from the concentration present at birth, indicating that the lead intake from formula is not likely to cause lead accumulation in the body during early infancy.