Abstract:
Environmental and biological evaluation for exposure to
lead were carried out in selected work related situations.
The level of lead in blood of selected populations working
and living in these work situations are higher than those
of the controls. Lead in blood values of normal Sri Lankans
CI6I.J.9/uXJMI) (15-30f-L9}IOOMJ.)
studied, are lower than for other countries~ Hence, a
corresponding difference in the numerical values of lead in
blood for Sri Lankan lead workers and those of other countries ,
for comparable occupational exposure to lead is observed.
The highest exposure to lead was observed in the lead remelting rooms where workers manifest the highest mean blood
lead level of 51 ~g/100 ml in the printing press, but the
adult male workers engaged in the process of recovering gold
from jewellers' wastes exhibited the alarmingly high mean
blood lead level of 87 ~g/100 mI. Further, adult female
residents of the area registered a dangerous level of the
order of 97 ~g/100ml of mean blood lead indicating a serious
threat to public health status in the area. The soil,
water and plants in the vicinity exhibited contamination
by lead to varying degrees. This is reiterated by the fact
that all the children in the area were exhibiting unsatisfactory and unhealthy lead absorption levels above the
recommended level of 11~g/100 ml blood, due to release of
lead from the bones into the circulatory system from time to
time. While many of them seriously suffered the toxic
effects of lead poisoning and lead encephalopathy, a few
succumbed to their illnesses.
