TY - JOUR
T1 - Air and blood lead levels in a battery factory
AU - Richter, Elihu D.
AU - Yaffe, Yehiam
AU - Gruener, Nachman
PY - 1979/10
Y1 - 1979/10
N2 - Blood lead (Pb B) and air lead (Pb A) exposure levels were studied in workers (62) in a battery plant. Thirty-five battery workers had Pb B higher than 60 μg/100ml (OSHA Proposed Biologic Limit Value, (BLV), 1975). Fifty-eight workers had Pb Bs exceeding 40 μg/100 ml (OSHA Proposed BLV, 1978). Average Pb A for 33 battery workers was greater than 100 μg/m3, the newly recommended TWA. Average Pb A of approximately 50 μg/m3, (6 workers), 85 μg/m3 (17 workers), and 190 μg/m3 (10 workers) were associated with virtually identical mean Pb B (55.0, 59.5, and 58.4 μg/100ml). For 10 of 29 battery workers, Pb A less than 100 μg/m3 was associated with Individual Pb B greater than 60 μg/100 ml. At exposure levels of 329 μg/m3 (15 workers), 885 μg/m3 (3 workers), and 1187 μg/m3 (4 workers), associated mean Pb B was 75.2, 76.3, and 90.7 μg/100 ml, respectively. Complaints of fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite were more frequent among 35 workers with Pb B > 60 μg/100 ml compared to 26 workers with Pb B < 60 μg/100 ml (relative risks 1.5, 1.4, 1.9, and 1.9, respectively). The relationship between group Pb A and individual Pb B was expressed by the equation: log Pb B (μg/100 cc) = 1.430 + 0.165 × log Pb A (μg/m3), r = 0.69. Battery factory data do not support the assumption that if Pb A were kept at or below 100 μg/m3, the blood lead levels would be less than 60 μg/100 ml.
AB - Blood lead (Pb B) and air lead (Pb A) exposure levels were studied in workers (62) in a battery plant. Thirty-five battery workers had Pb B higher than 60 μg/100ml (OSHA Proposed Biologic Limit Value, (BLV), 1975). Fifty-eight workers had Pb Bs exceeding 40 μg/100 ml (OSHA Proposed BLV, 1978). Average Pb A for 33 battery workers was greater than 100 μg/m3, the newly recommended TWA. Average Pb A of approximately 50 μg/m3, (6 workers), 85 μg/m3 (17 workers), and 190 μg/m3 (10 workers) were associated with virtually identical mean Pb B (55.0, 59.5, and 58.4 μg/100ml). For 10 of 29 battery workers, Pb A less than 100 μg/m3 was associated with Individual Pb B greater than 60 μg/100 ml. At exposure levels of 329 μg/m3 (15 workers), 885 μg/m3 (3 workers), and 1187 μg/m3 (4 workers), associated mean Pb B was 75.2, 76.3, and 90.7 μg/100 ml, respectively. Complaints of fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite were more frequent among 35 workers with Pb B > 60 μg/100 ml compared to 26 workers with Pb B < 60 μg/100 ml (relative risks 1.5, 1.4, 1.9, and 1.9, respectively). The relationship between group Pb A and individual Pb B was expressed by the equation: log Pb B (μg/100 cc) = 1.430 + 0.165 × log Pb A (μg/m3), r = 0.69. Battery factory data do not support the assumption that if Pb A were kept at or below 100 μg/m3, the blood lead levels would be less than 60 μg/100 ml.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0018720324&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/0013-9351(79)90088-4
DO - 10.1016/0013-9351(79)90088-4
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C2 - 499174
AN - SCOPUS:0018720324
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 20
SP - 87
EP - 98
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
IS - 1
ER -