TEMPORAL CHANGES IN BLOOD LEAD LEVELS OF HAZARDOUS-WASTE WORKERS IN NEW-JERSEY, 1984-1987

The blood lead levels of 568 New Jersey hazardous waste workers were d etermined at least once in the period 1984-1987. Workers almost always wore protective clothing in the field, which should have prevented ex posure to lead. Therefore, despite their occupation, these workers are probably representative of the New Jersey suburban population in the mid-1980s. Blood lead levels ranged from 2.0-20.7 mug/dL, with an arit hmetic mean value of 5.8 mug/dL, representing a decline from levels me asured a decade earlier, but there was no clear change over the four y ears of the study. Blood lead levels increased with age of the worker up to age 60. Women showed lower levels than men in every age group.