Exposure of women in general populations to lead via food and air in east and southeast Asia

Background Despite increasing public concern of the possible health effects of lead (Pb) on general populations, reports on Pb levels in blood (Pb-B) and urine (Pb-B), as well as Pb intake via foods (Pb-F) for many Asian coun tries are scarce. The present study was initiated to elucidate the extent o f non-occupational Pb exposure among general populations in East and Southe ast Asia. Methods In 1991-1997, peripheral blood morning spot urine and 24-hour food duplicate samples were collected from 20 to 50 non-smoking adult women in e ach of four cities in Southeast Asia and five cities in Mainland China, and two cities each in Japan and Korea, The samples were wet-ashed and then an alyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for Pb-B, Pb-U and P b-F: Measures after logarithmic conversion were subjected to ANOVA and regr ession analysis. Results Geometric mean values in cities in East and Southeast Asia were in ranges of 32-65 mu g/L for Pb-B, 2.1-7.5 mu g/g cr for Pb-Ucr and 7-32 mu g /day for Pb-F: The values for a combination of two cities of Tokyo and Kyot o, Japan (38 mu g/L for Pb-B and 9.3 mu g/day for Pb-F) appeared to be lowe r than the values for other Asian cities, and the values for all Japan (thu s including both urban and rural areas) were even lower (19 mu g/L for Pb-B and 7.7 mu g/day for Pb-F). Comparison of Pb uptake via respiratory and di etary routes showed that Pb via dietary route accounted for 15% of the tota l in Manila where Pb in air was high (ca. 650 ng/m(3)), whereas it was 54% in Tokyo+Kyoto where Pb in air was low (ca. 75 ng/m(3)). Conclusions When compared internationally, Pb-F and Pb-B in Asia in general ave similar to or somewhat higher than the levels in Europe and USA, where as the levels in Japan are probably lower than the two latter areas. In Asi a, Pb-F accounted for 15-54% of all Pb sources, the percentage being variab le depending on focal conditions especially Pb in atmospheric air Am. J. In d. Med. 38:271-280, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.