NEUROLOGICAL DISTURBANCES IN WORKERS WITH LOW-LEVELS OF LEAD IN THE BLOOD .2. NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

This is a cross-sectional study with a randomized choice of individual s aiming at studying the validity of the Brazilian biological exposure limits applied to lead level in the blood (PbB) and delta-aminolevuli nic acid in the urine (ALAU), which are 60 mu/dl and 10 mg/g.creat., r espectively. Thus, twenty workers, whose PbB and ALAU values have been below these limits over the past two years, were selected at random a t a battery plant in the State of S. Paulo, Brazil. The workers were s ubmitted to a variation of the WHO Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery. The results were compared with those obtained for workers of a control group also chosen at random. The lead workers showed memory, mood and motor coordination disorders. Comparing these results with those obta ined from the control group, a significant difference was observed (p- value < 0.02). The results indicate that the Brazilian biological expo sure limits above should be reconsidered.