Evaluation of a portable blood lead analyzer with occupationally exposed populations

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ashley, Kevin E. ; Deddens J ; Jones, Richard ; Kwan L ; Sanderson, Wayne T. ; Taylor L
• Description:
  Although the U.S. national mean blood lead level has declined significantly in recent years, occupational exposures to lead are still common in the United States. Since the severity of symptoms associated with lead exposure correlates directly with increased blood lead levels, a blood lead sample is considered the main biological marker for lead exposure. This project evaluated a portable electroanalytical instrument that rapidly analyzes blood lead levels in individuals using a fresh whole blood sample (venous or capillary). The instrument, which operates by means of anodic stripping voltammetry, was originally designed to provide a rapid, cost-effective technique to monitor lead exposures of pediatric populations. However, the instrument's ability to perform rapid analysis makes it potentially valuable to occupational health professionals for medical monitoring or on-site investigations. Therefore, this instrument was evaluated within a study population comprised of 206 employees from both a lead battery manufacturing facility and lead smelting facility. Participating employees donated two 2 mL venous blood samples collected into "lead-free" evacuated tubes. One blood sample was analyzed on site using the portable field instrument, while the second sample was analyzed by the blood lead laboratory at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Within the study population, venous blood lead levels ranged from 1 mg/dL to 42 mg/dL. A preliminary analysis indicates that the field instrument results have a slight positive bias overall, with less bias for blood levels above 10 mg/dL. The absolute mean difference between the field instrument and the laboratory results was less than 1 mg/dL. Age, smoking status, and gender had no effect on the field instrument performance relative to the laboratory-based analytical results. This tool can provide valuable rapid blood lead information for occupational health professionals in the field. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Biomarkers Diagnosis Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Hematologic Tests Laboratories Lead Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Metals Metal Workers Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety

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• Keywords:
  Analytical-instruments Analytical-processes Atomic-absorption-spectrometry Battery-manufacturing-industry Blood-analysis Blood-sampling Diagnostic-techniques Electrochemical-analysis Employee-exposure Equipment-reliability Laboratory-testing Lead-absorption Lead-compounds Lead-smelting Medical-monitoring Performance-capability Smelting

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• Publisher:
  American Industrial Hygiene Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  California ; Florida ; Georgia ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 9 ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DPSE - Division of Physical Sciences and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  24
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20041418
• Citation:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida. Fairfax, VA: American Industrial Hygiene Association, 2000 May; :24
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exposition, May 20-25, 2000, Orlando, Florida
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:2be1fbb5c3635a39d4dd00b516f843edb92edd708268e34add9de906183994991072b6cda9d4689bc2fd564b733eae75088b2714c63324887e1bc5daa8ace60e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193991/cdc_193991_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.01 MB ]