An evaluation of recent blood lead levels in Port Pirie, South Australia

Maynard, E.J.; Thomas, Raylene; Simon, Dávid; Phipps, Catherine; Ward, Carla; Calder, I. C.

doi:10.1016/s0048-9697(02)00359-5

Cited by 30 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The latter has dramatically reduced lead in air concentrations in major urban populations with a subsequent dramatic reduction to lead exposure to those communities (MMWR, 2005). However, despite this public health progress, some communities are still exposed to excessive levels of lead (e.g., Maynard et al, 2003;Gulson et al, 2004). One of these communities is Port Pirie, where the world's largest lead smelter is located.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living in a sea of lead — changes in blood- and hand-lead of infants living near a smelter

Simon

Maynard

Thomas

2006

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Thirteen infants born into the lead contaminated environment of Port Pirie, South Australia, were followed approximately monthly from birth until they were about 36 months. Blood-lead levels of infants at birth were similar to their mothers but fell rapidly during the first 35 days of life. Thereafter, infants born with blood-lead levels at about 2-4 mg/dl began a slow linear increase until 14-18 months where a plateau occurred of 10.8-17.2 mg/dl. The bloodlead levels were well correlated with hand-lead loadings of infant (r 2 ¼ 0.72, Po0.01, log transformed data) and mother (r 2 ¼ 0.62, Po0.01, log transformed data) unless the birth lead level was exceptionally high. The principle factor determining exposure was thee impact of smelter emissions on the house. Blood-lead increase was caused by the relatively more rapid increase in dose of lead compared with the increasing body mass, which was related directly to the maturation of motor development. Hand-lead of mothers were closely related to both infants' blood-and hand-lead levels until the point of blood-lead plateau then substantially fell as infants began to walk unaided. The estimated slope factor using the ICRP model was 0.75-0.94 mg/dl per mg/ day with a maximum daily dose of 3-5 mg/kg/day, assuming 45% absorption. Ingestion appears to be the most likely route for at least 95% of the dose.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Living in a sea of lead — changes in blood- and hand-lead of infants living near a smelter

Simon

Maynard

Thomas

2006

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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“…While children living closest to or downwind of the Port Pirie smelter have continued to have the highest blood lead levels, there is evidence that some interventions have been successful reducing blood lead levels in Port Pirie children [12]. These have included avoidance of tank rainwater, reduction of airborne smelter emissions, relocation of children to lower exposure suburbs, worker hygiene improvements, community education and house decontamination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Lead and Nickel Contamination of Tank Rainwater in Esperance, Western Australia: An Evaluation of the Cleaning Program

Heyworth¹,

Mullan²

2009

JWARP

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A significant number of birds in the port town of Esperance, Western Australia died in the summer of 2006/2007 and elevated lead levels were found in the kidneys, livers and brains of autopsied birds. These elevated lead levels alerted Government authorities to investigate the public health impacts of potential lead contamination in the community resulting from transport of lead carbonate from the Esperance Port. Water samples from domestic rainwater collection systems were collected to determine the extent of heavy metal contamination; 19% and 24% of tanks had lead and nickel levels above the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether cleaning of rainwater tanks had reduced exposure to lead and nickel contamination in the community. Follow-up sampling of 176 tanks across Esperance indicated that that there had been reductions in both lead and nickel concentrations, but that the reduction has been greater for nickel concentrations. The reduction in nickel concentration was significantly associated with cleaning status, whereas this was not the case for lead. Proximity to the Esperance Port was an important determinant of lead concentration. Tank and roof characteristics did not significantly influence the follow-up lead concentrations. The results suggested that there was ongoing contamination of rainwater tanks from the environment.

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“…Thus, at soil levels between 400 and 2000 mg/kg, the recommendation is to install raised-bed garden, install framed play and picnic area with perforated landscape cloth and wood chips 4-6 inches deep, and cover bare soil with wood chips if not a suitable site for grass (Hynes et al, 2001). Other superfund sites in US apparently use another guidance value of 500 mg/kg (Khoury and Diamond, 2003), which is parallel to general guidelines in South Australia, which prescribe home owner-maintained barriers and behavioural strategies at soil concentrations of lead within the interval of 500-2500 mg/kg (Maynard et al, 2003). The Danish EPA assess levels of lead in soil below 40 mg/kg as safe, state a cutoff value for lead in soil of 400 mg/kg, above which remediation should be initiated, and defines a guidance interval between 40 and 400 mg/kg.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interventions seeking to reduce intake of lead by educating parents about improved hygiene and behaviour so that children ingest less dirt have proved efficient in several exposure scenarios (Aschengrau et al, 1994;Kimbrough et al, 1994;Hilts et al, 1998;Maynard et al, 2003;von Lindern et al, 2003b). However, some data indicate that intervention may only be effective for children in the tail of the distribution, or approximately the 5-10% children with highest blood-lead levels (von Lindern et al, 2003b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The suggested interventions to reduce exposure to lead from soil described by different authorities are comparable although the level at which they are to be initiated differ (Aschengrau et al, 1994;Hynes et al, 2001;Maynard et al, 2003;von Lindern et al, 2003a,b). The present study evaluated the effect of a physical intervention in two kindergartens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Remediation of soil from lead-contaminated kindergartens reduces the amount of lead adhering to children's hands

Nielsen

Kristiansen

2004

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

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Risk related to contaminated soil is based on the oral intake of soil and dust among children. This exposure is a consequence of mouthing behaviour, which exposes children to whatever adheres to their hands or toys. This project compared hand exposure of children to lead following outdoor playground activities before and after an intervention. The intervention consisted of replacement of contaminated top soil from the most intensively used playground areas and coverage of bare soil with wood chips or grass. We included children from three kindergartens: one with very low levels of lead in soil and two kindergartens with an average lead concentrations in soil of 100-200 mg/kg. Measurements of lead in soil 5-7 weeks after interventions in two kindergartens verified that the interventions had effectively reduced the potential exposure to lead from the most intensively used areas of the playgrounds. The average lead concentration in soil after intervention was below 10 mg/kg. We found a good agreement between the average concentration of lead in soil and the amount of lead on the hands of the children. Thus, the exposure marker worked and had the advantage compared to a blood sample, that we could evaluate the effect of the interventions shortly after they were accomplished using a noninvasive method. The amount of lead on the hands measured in one of the two kindergartens after the remediation (0.73 mg) was not significantly different from the control kindergarten (0.58 mg). Children from the second kindergarten still had higher median exposures to lead (1.29 mg), but a large overlap existed with several children having lower amounts of lead on their hands than some children from the control kindergarten. Large variations in the amount of lead on hands were observed. Variations may reflect true differences in concentrations of lead in soil, but may also reflect different behavior and playing patterns. Our study demonstrated, that it was possible in a cost-effective way to reduce exposure significantly and to verify the effect with a sensitive, noninvasive method shortly after the interventions had been implemented.

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An evaluation of recent blood lead levels in Port Pirie, South Australia

Cited by 30 publications

References 11 publications

Living in a sea of lead — changes in blood- and hand-lead of infants living near a smelter

Living in a sea of lead — changes in blood- and hand-lead of infants living near a smelter

Environmental Lead and Nickel Contamination of Tank Rainwater in Esperance, Western Australia: An Evaluation of the Cleaning Program

Remediation of soil from lead-contaminated kindergartens reduces the amount of lead adhering to children's hands

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