Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Employed Adults – United States, 1994–2012

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Alarcon, Walter A.
• Description:
  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and state health departments collect data on laboratory-reported adult blood lead levels (BLLs). This report presents data on elevated blood lead levels among employed adults in the United States for 1994-2012. This report is a part of the first-ever Summary of Notifiable Noninfectious Conditions and Disease Outbreaks, which encompasses various surveillance years but is being published in 2015. The Summary of Notifiable Noninfectious Conditions and Disease Outbreaks appears in the same volume of MMWR as the annual Summary of Notifiable Infectious Diseases. In 2012, a total of 41 states submitted data on 7,529 adults with BLLs >/= 25 microg/dL and 38 states submitted data on 27,218 adults with BLLs >/= 10 microg/dL. Overall, the prevalence of BLLs >/= 10 microg/dL among state residents and nonresidents declined from 26.6 adults per 100,000 employed in 2010 to 22.5 in 2012. The prevalence of BLLs >/= 25 microg/dL among state residents and nonresidents declined from 14.0 adults per 100,000 employed in 1994 to 5.7 in 2012. In 2012, state prevalence rates of BLLs >/= 25 microg/dL were above the national rate (5.7/100,000) in 10 states and state prevalence rates of BLLs >/= 10 microg/dL were above the national rate (22.5/100,000) in 12 states. In 2012, more than half (53.0%) of adults with BLLs >/= 10 microg/dL were aged 40-64 years 33.3% were aged 25-39 years, and the great majority (91.5%) were males. Historically, in the United States, most lead exposures have been occupational. During 2002-2012, the annual proportion of BLLs >/= 25 microg/dL from occupational exposures was 94.7% among participating states (minimum: 93.3% in 2012; maximum: 95.5% in 2004). In 2012, among the 37 states that reported the exposure source for adults with BLLs >/= 25 microg/dL, the proportion of occupational cases ranged from 38.9% to 100%. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Epidemiology Hematologic Tests Lead Lead Poisoning Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Surveillance-programs; Epidemiology; Statistical-analysis; Lead-absorption; Lead-compounds; Employee-exposure; Environmental-exposure; Occupational-exposure; Blood-tests; Blood-sampling; Age-groups; Humans; Men; Exposure-assessment; Exposure-levels
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Publisher:
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S.)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  31 pdf pages
• Volume:
  62
• Issue:
  54
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046888
• Citation:
  MMWR 2015 Oct; 62(54):52-75
• Email:
  wda7@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Lead (CAS RN 7439-92-1)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  Texas State Department of Health Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20060701
• End Date:
  20160630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ebbb9d4856d16ee173cac325c4af8827412d3cf4fea33073e25fc217d49395e6768cd8c30db581dbf08d1fdacb71ad1d64359d4381089b79c80a8516ae4f138d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/248502/cdc_248502_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 636.69 KB ]