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During a first survey (1974) increased lead absorption accompanied by impaired heme biosynthesis was found among children (11 yr) attending schools situated at less than 1 km (subgroup A) and 2.5 km (subgroup B) from a lead smelter. Eighteen months after major improvements had been introduced in the factory to reduce its lead emission, a second survey (1976) was carried out in the same schools (lead smelter and rural area) on other groups of children which were comparable with those of the first survey. The continuous air monitoring revealed for the lead smelter area a considerable decrease in airborne lead. The median values dropped from 3.2 to 1.2 μg Pb/m3 at less than 1 km and from 1.6 to 0.5–0.8 μg Pb/m3 at 1.5 km from the plant; in the rural area it remained unchanged at 0.3 μg Pb/m3. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the technological improvements we assessed the lead and cadmium exposure of the children by measuring lead concentration in blood (PbB) and urine (PbU), erythrocyte δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD) activity, free erythrocyte porphyrin (FEP) concentration, δ-aminolevulinic acid excretion in urine (ALAU), and cadmium concentration in blood (CdB) and urine (CdU). Subgroups A and B exhibited higher PbB and CdU levels, and lower ALAD activity than the rural group; but PbU, CdB, FEP, and ALAD were significantly increased only in subgroup A. Compared with the results of the first survey, a significant tendency to a normalization of PbB was found at 2.5 km, but at less than 1 km the biological parameters (particularly PbB, ALAD, FEP) did not improve. The PbB percentile distribution in subgroup B lies now under the tentative PbB percentile distribution proposed in the PbB Directive of the Commission of the European Communities (CEC): that of subgroup A, however, is still above that of the CEC proposal. Taking into account the higher degree of vulnerability to lead exposure as compared to adults a more restrictive PbB percentile distribution has been proposed for children. Two hypotheses have been put forward to explain the lack of significant improvements in the biological parameters of the children living at less than 1 km from the lead smelter. Ingestion of dust and dirt (probably due to hand contamination) from their surroundings in the course of their normal everyday activity may represent, in addition to air, a supplementary cause of increased lead accumulation in these children. Indeed, dust and dirt samples collected on the school playgrounds at less than 1 km from the factory contained (mean ± SD) 3541 ± 1310 and 5466 ± 831 μg Pb/g, whereas at 2.5 km and in the rural area it only amounted to 397 ± 33 and 152 ± 41 μg Pb/g, respectively. The alternative explanation is that a continuous resuspension of dust and dirt particles from the highly contaminated soil around the lead smelter may maintain a very high airborne lead concentration at the breathing height of the children. In addition to a lasting reduction of lead emission from the plant, the remedial actions should also take into consideration these two possibilities. |
