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Acute high-dose lead exposure from beverage contaminated by traditional Mexican pottery
T D Matte1, D Proops, E Palazuelos
1Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract:
Screening and follow-up blood lead measurements in a 7-year-old child of a US Embassy official in Mexico City revealed an increase in blood lead concentration from 1.10 to 4.60 mumol/L in less than 4 weeks. The cause was traced to fruit punch contaminated with lead leached from traditional ceramic pottery urns. Consumption of the contaminated punch at a picnic was associated with a 20% increase in blood lead concentrations among embassy staff and dependants who were tested 6 weeks after the exposure. This episode highlights the continued health risk, even from brief exposure, posed by traditional pottery in Mexico.