LEAD IN BLOOD AND MILK FROM URBAN INDIAN CATTLE AND BUFFALO

Lead levels were estimated in blood and milk collected from cattle and buffalo in 3 urban areas in India. Mean blood lead concentrations wer e above background levels. The highest mean blood lead was from Delhi/ Ghaziabad (0.43 +/- 0.06) where 11.11% of the samples contained 0.80 p pm lead. Mean milk lead concentrations were 0.28 +/- 0.06 ppm in Ahmed abad, 0.28 +/- 0.05 ppm in Calcutta and 0.27 +/- 0.05 ppm in Delhi. Mo re than 50% of the milk samples from these areas had higher lead conce ntrations than the background levels suggested for milk.