A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AMBIENT LEAD AND BLOOD LEAD AMONGLEAD BATTERY WORKERS

Objective: To examine the relationship between ambient lead levels and blood lead levels and to explore the modifiers of the relationship be tween ambient lead and blood lead, Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two lead battery factories. Blood lead level and ambient lead concentration were measured for each participant concurrently. A structured questionnaire was administered to collect sociodemographic characteristics and occupational history, Design: Biological and pers onal environmental measurements of 219 lead-exposed workers were analy zed by both simple and multiple linear regression, A regression model was selected for interpretation. Results:A high correlation (r = 0.62) between ambient lead (PbA) and blood lead (PbB) was observed. In addi tion, numerous factors, including age, sex, alcohol consumption, perso nal hygiene practice and type of lead exposure, were also found to inf luence blood lead levels, Although PbB was highly correlated with PbA, blood lead level may not be effectively lowered by reducing ambient l ead level, Based on the regression coefficients, improvement of hygien ic practice was more effective at lowering PbB than reducing ambient l ead level. Good hygienic practice may be the preferential way to reduc e lead exposure in current conditions, Conclusion: Education of correc t work practice may be more important than engineering control in the developing countries to lower blood lead levels in lead battery factor ies.