Blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin in lead industry workers

A retrospective study was performed by evaluating the time course changes in blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin concentrations in 240 industrial lead workers. The data indicate that there is a considerable difference in rate of change and plateau state for each of the two parameters. The difference in time course in these parameters indicates that both should be monitored in workers in order to estimate the accumulation of lead and the metabolic response to the body burden.