Lead exposure in day care centres in the Caracas Valley--Venezuela

Lead has been used as an additive to improve the anti-knock quality of gasoline. However, the combustion of lead gasoline produces particles rich in this element. These kinds of particles impact the alveoli and move into the bloodstream, causing serious health problems. The objective of this study is to determine the granulometric distribution, mineralogy, and lead levels in samples such as settled dust and soil, as well as lead concentration in drinking water, in different day care centers located in the metropolitan area of Caracas, which have been previously studied and classified, according to the Total Suspended Particles (TSP) levels by the national environmental office, as high (80 microg m(-3)) and low (50 microg m(-3)) polluted areas. The chemical analysis was performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy and atomic emission spectroscopy-inductively coupled plasma. The mineralogy was determined using X-ray differentiation. Results show that all samples are enriched by small particles (<44 microm). Lead concentrations in day care centres located in areas of high vehicular density were higher than those in areas of low vehicular traffic. Lead concentration for drinking water samples was below the standard value reported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (15 microg Pb/l).