Elevated blood lead concentrations in children living in isolated communities of the Kola Peninsula, Russia

Lead levels were determined in children aged 5-14 in three communities: two groups (N = 24 and 39) from Apatity, an industrial city; a group (N = 47) from Lowozero, an isolated Saami village, and another (N = 14) from Krashno chelie, a remote native village with Sami, Komi, and Nenets populations. As in the northwestern James Bay region of Canada, unexpectedly high blood le ad concentrations were found in the most isolated community, namely Krashno chelie. The median lead concentration in Krashnochelie was significantly hi gher (p < 0.01 or p < 0.02) than those for the other village and city. In t he Krashnochelie group, the lead levels were not gender dependent. The perc entage of children with blood lead concentrations at or above the medical c oncern level of 0.48 mu mol/l was highest (36%) in Krashnochelie, compared to 8% in Apatity and 6% in Lowozero. All but two of the 124 individuals tes ted had ferritin concentrations above that indicative of depleted iron stor es (10 mu g/l for age <14 years); the median ferritin values were comparabl e for all four communities. Iron status differences can therefore not expla in the elevation of blood lead concentrations in the Krashnochelie group A number of explanations are provided to account for the implied differences in lead exposure in the four study groups.