Adult blood lead testing Louisiana, 2007

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dugas D ; Katner A ; Lackovic M ; Locklin C ; Soileau S ; White LE
• Description:
  In June 2006, changes in disease reporting requirements mandated that laboratories and physicians report all adult lead test results to the Office of Public Health's (OPH) Section of Environmental Epidemiology & Toxicology (SEET). Since that time, SEET has received laboratory reports from six reference laboratories and has developed a database and data parsing software to process and manage the large volume of laboratory data. This report summarizes the 5,611 adult blood lead tests SEET received from January to December, 2007. Discussion: This report represents the first time surveillance of adult blood lead levels among Louisiana residents has been conducted using laboratory data. Of the results reported, 170 (3.8%) are above the Healthy People 2010 goal of 25 ug/dL; five (0.11%) cases met the OSHA criteria for medical removal. Based on the experience of other states with adult lead surveillance programs, and observations in Louisiana, it is likely that the number of reported elevated lead tests is an underestimate of the actual number of Louisiana residents with elevated blood lead levels. Some businesses with workers at risk of exposure to lead might not provide blood lead testing and certain workers do not fall under the workplace medical monitoring requirements. In addition, non-occupationally exposed individuals may not be tested. SEET's surveillance system permits ongoing and timely identification of elevated results among tested individuals, as well as identification of their exposure sources. This information identifies jobs and situations where Louisiana residents may be at risk for exposure, which directs targeted education and other preventive measures. To improve the coverage of testing, SEET will conduct outreach to at-risk workers who may not be aware of lead poisoning hazards or the need for testing. Specific focus will be on individuals working in the construction industry in the Greater New Orleans area who are rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina. In addition to workers, SEET will target individuals who may be non-occupationally exposed through home renovation projects or hobbies such as casting ammunition, shooting firearms, or working with stained glass. SEET is also targeting education to health care providers to increase the lead testing of patients who may be at-risk based on their activities or occupations. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Construction Industry Education Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Hematologic Tests Laboratories Lead Men Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Women

  More +
• Keywords:
  Blood-analysis Blood-samples Blood-tests Construction-workers Lead-absorption Lead-compounds Medical-monitoring Physicians Risk-factors Surveillance-programs
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-3
• Volume:
  19
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20042473
• Citation:
  LA Morb Rep 2008 Jul-Aug; 19(4):1-3
• Contact Point Address:
  Cara Locklin, Louisiana Office of Public Health - Infectious Disease Epidemiology Section, P.O. Box 60630, New Orleans, LA 70160
• Email:
  clocklin@dhh.la.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Wholesale and Retail Trade
• Performing Organization:
  Louisiana State Office of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Louisiana Morbidity Report
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:eb8d44dea88ec00ed73c1d5a1ae5a5850c769368d051fe1dae1cc3c443d5ccb97e2e4af4f51f37e1d64e379841c3c1092b22dbad60d4275b858ba11882bb528c
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/194690/cdc_194690_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 364.89 KB ]