BLOOD LEAD IN UK CHILDREN - TIME FOR A LOWER ACTION LEVEL

1. Blood lead measurements in samples collected from 660 London school children during 1991 to 1992 suggest that the blood lead values in chi ldren in the U.K. are decreasing. 2. Geometric mean values for blood l ead were 0.18 (range 0.05-0.71) mu mol/l [3.7 (1.0-15.0) mu g/dl]. Ana lysis of variance showed differences between ethnic groups, sex and sc hools. An age-matched subset of 148 children was compared with 136 chi ldren from an earlier study in 1986 and 1987. Trend analysis of the ge ometric mean lead values showed a negative slope (b = -0.484, P < 0.00 01), with maximum values of 0.81, 1.00, 0.71 and 0.43 mu mol/l (17, 21 , 15 and 9 mu g/dl) for the years 1986, 1987, 1991 and 1992 respective ly. 3. It is recommended that children in the U.K. being investigated for anaemia, pica, recurrent abdominal pain or a high-risk environment should have blood lead values measured and that the action level for blood lead in children should be decreased from 1.19 mu mol/l to 0.48 mu mol/l (from 25 mu g/dl to 10 mu g/dl). 4. Guidance is offered to cl inicians and other health professionals investigating excessive lead e xposure.