Elevated Blood Lead Levels

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Michigan State University. College of Human Medicine
• Description:
  Adverse health effects from exposure to lead remains an ongoing health concern. Though commonly thought of as a problem in toddlers from the ingestion of paint chips, lead toxicity is also an important health issue in adults. Each year in Michigan, 13,000-14,000 adults are tested for lead exposure. The appropriate test is a blood lead level; there is no reason to order a urine test. Approximately 1,300 (approximately 10%) individuals in Michigan each year have an elevated blood lead level (BLL). Among the approximately 1,300 elevated BLLs reported each year in Michigan, about 54% have a BLL of 5-9 ug/dL, 38% have a BLL of 10- 24 ug/dL and 8% have a BLL of > 25 ug/dL (1). The average BLL in the US general population is 1.38 ug/dL. Eighty percent of Michigan adults with an elevated BLL have their exposure to lead at work. The usual workplace sources for lead in Michigan are the removal of paint from outdoor metal structures (i.e. bridges or water towers) or during building remediation or renovation, the manufacture of brass and bronze, and work in indoor firing ranges. These workers are covered by a federal occupational health standard promulgated in 1978 that allows a worker's blood lead level to be as high as 50 ug/dL. Since 1978 there has been extensive research on the adverse health effects of lead at levels lower than 50 ug/dL. This literature is summarized in a 2012 publication from the National Institute of Health (NIH) (2) and a 2013 publication from the Environmental Protection Agency (3). A summary of the review of the medical literature from the NIH document is shown in Table 1. There is a clear consensus in the medical literature that adverse health effects begin even below blood lead levels of 5 ug/dL. The table shows the consensus opinion of NIH scientists and an external scientific review committee on whether there was sufficient or limited evidence of an adverse health effect in adults at blood lead levels below 5 and 10 ug/dL. The awareness of adverse health effects at these low BLLs has fostered the development of new management guidelines for caring for adults with elevated blood lead levels. Table 2 shows a copy of the guidelines that have been developed by the California Department of Public Health and subsequently adopted by the Occupational Subcommittee of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics. On November 13, 2013 the California Department of Public Health held a symposium entitled Lead in the Workplace - the New Science. This is the first step in a process to adopt new occupational lead regulations in California. Prominent features proposed in the new regulations are for employers to aim to maintain worker blood lead levels at 5 to 10 ug/dL and to require medical removal at 30 ug/dL (4). To maintain blood lead levels of 5 to 10 ug/dL as proposed, the allowable air standard would be reduced from 50 ug/m3 to 0.5-2.1 ug/m3. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Epidemiology Lead Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Blood Lead Levels Health Effects Lead-based Paint Occupational Exposure Surveillance Programs
• Publisher:
  Michigan State University-College of Human Medicine
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1-4
• Volume:
  25
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054537
• Citation:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News 2014 Jan; 25(1):1-4
• Contact Point Address:
  MSU-CHM, 117 West Fee Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824-1316
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Michigan State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Project S.E.N.S.O.R. News
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:0c9849184cd0b1ba5a25071abcfe2ae45978f55de8b00405cf41b1c9a4dc522a813a8217859d5fcc1ac640e904b8c3193e60ca99de3d5862293d13723cf16e95
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/217067/cdc_217067_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 190.53 KB ]