Document Detail


The decay of blood lead levels in workers suspended under the control of lead at work regulations.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  15799994     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
AIMS: To study the rate of decline in blood lead levels post-suspension under Control of Lead at Work Regulations (CLAW) and thereby suggest sampling frequencies for follow-up blood lead measurements. METHODS: A retrospective cohort of lead workers with blood lead levels over the current suspension level were identified from blood lead records. Data on their suspension and follow-up blood lead measurements were obtained. RESULTS: Sixteen per cent of the identified cohort did not appear to return to lead work under CLAW. Twenty-seven suspension cases with an initial mean blood lead of 79 microg/dl (3.82 micromol/l) formed the dataset for analysis of decline in blood lead levels. The mean length of time between the blood sample indicating suspension and the first follow-up blood sample was 32 days. The mean length of suspension under CLAW was 61 days. The mean initial rate of blood lead decay was 0.659 microg/dl per day (0.032 micromol/l per day), although with a wide range. The rate of decline in blood lead after suspension was increased by the blood lead level at suspension, but was decreased by increasing past cumulative exposure. CONCLUSIONS: A follow-up blood lead sample 1 month after suspension should show a mean decrease between 13 and 26 microg/dl (0.63-1.25 micromol/l), which is substantially greater than that due to analytical 'noise' associated with two sequential measurements (approximately 5 microg/dl). Therefore, a follow-up blood sample taken around 3-4 weeks after suspension would seem practical. A decrease in blood lead of 7-8 mug/dl (0.36 micromol/l) or less in the month after suspension may suggest continuing lead exposure.
Authors:
H Mason; N Williams
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't     Date:  2005-03-30
Journal Detail:
Title:  Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)     Volume:  55     ISSN:  0962-7480     ISO Abbreviation:  Occup Med (Lond)     Publication Date:  2005 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-07-25     Completed Date:  2006-02-03     Revised Date:  2006-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9205857     Medline TA:  Occup Med (Lond)     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  371-4     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Broad Lane--Health and Safety Laboratory, Sheffield, UK.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Chemical Industry*
Cohort Studies
Humans
Lead / blood*,  toxicity
Male
Mass Screening
Occupational Exposure / analysis*
Retrospective Studies
Time Factors
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
7439-92-1/Lead

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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