Impact of Soil and Dust Lead on Children's Blood Lead in Contaminated Areas of Sweden

The impact of lead in soil and dust on blood lead concentrations in young children (i.e., 1–5 y of age, N = 202) and the risk of health effects were investigated in an urban and a mining area of Sweden. Blood, soil, and indoor dust, as well as information on lead-exposure factors, were collected. The blood lead concentrations (total range = 9–77 μmlg/l) the authors measured indicated a low risk for lead-induced health effects. Lead in soil (i.e., < 10–5,000 μmlg/g) and in dust (i.e., < 1–316 μmlg/g) had little effect on blood lead concentrations, given the present conditions and present concentration range—especially in the mining area. Urban children had significantly higher blood lead concentrations than children in the mining area, despite higher concentrations of lead in soil in the mining area. In the urban children, blood lead concentrations were influenced by parental smoking and lead in dust at day-care centers.     

太原市幼儿血铅水平与环境铅污染状况研究

目的：了解太原市幼儿血铅水平及环境铅污染状况。方法：用原子吸收法在质控条件下测定末梢血铅、空气、土壤及学习用品中铅的含量。结果：幼儿血铅均值为（0．637－1．388）μmol/L(几何均值0．498－0．982μmol/L),63%-92%的幼儿血铅≥0.4830644mol/L,两项皆以电池厂与煤气公司第一幼儿园为最高。3所幼儿园空气铅超标。土壤铅全部超标,也以上述两园为最高。学习用品中浅绿色桌面漆层含铅量为4094．5μg/g,超标15．4倍。结论：太原市幼儿血铅水平高、超标人数众多,应予以重视。土壤已被铅污染,可能是幼儿血铅高的主要原因。     

Lead Content of Deciduous Teeth of Children in Different Environments

? The lead content of teeth of children in five different environments has been measured to determine the relative contribution of different sources of lead. The importance of lead paint in children living in dilapidated housing is clearly observed, but no effect attributable to automobile exhaust or industrial emissions is apparent. High lead levels were found among children living in new public housing projects within the high lead area of the city, even though a lead paint problem presumably should not exist in the projects themselves. The data are analyzed to determine the frequency with which excessive lead contents occur in the problem area in comparison to a low risk area.     

Lead Accumulation in the Straw Mushroom, Volvariella volvacea, from Lead Contaminated Rice Straw and Stubble

Straw mushrooms were grown on lead contaminated rice straw and stubble. Study materials were dried, acid digested, and analyzed for lead using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The results showed the highest lead concentration in substrate was 445.350 mg kg^?1 in Treatment 3 (T3) and the lowest was BD (below detection) in Treatment 1 (T1). The maximum lead content in straw mushrooms was 5.072 mg kg^?1 dw in pileus of T3 and the minimum lead content in straw mushrooms was BD in egg and mature (stalk and pileus) stage of T1. The lead concentration in straw mushrooms was affected by the age of the mycelium and the morphology of mushrooms. Mushrooms’ lead uptake produced the highest accumulation in the cell wall. Some lead concentrations in straw mushrooms exceeded the EU standard (>3 mg kg^?1 dw).     

Phosphorus Amendment Reduces Bioavailability of Lead to Mallards Ingesting Contaminated Sediments

Lead poisoning of waterfowl has been reported for decades in the Coeur dAlene River Basin in Idaho as a result of the ingestion of lead-contaminated sediments. We conducted a study to determine whether the addition of phosphoric acid to sediments would reduce the bioavailability of lead to mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). When sediments were amended with 1% phosphorus under laboratory conditions, and diets containing 12% amended sediment were fed to mallards, reductions in tissue lead were 43% in blood, 41% in liver, and 59% in kidney with sediment containing about 4,520 g/g lead on a dry-weight basis and 41, 30, and 57% with sediment containing about 6,990 g/g lead. When sediments were treated with phosphorus and left to age for about 5 months in the field, reductions in lead were 56% in blood, 54% in liver, and 66% in kidney at one site with about 5,390 g/g lead and 64, 57, and 77% at a second site with about 6,990 g/g lead. In the field, the inability to mix the phosphoric acid uniformly and deeply enough into the sediment may have resulted in more than 1% phosphorus being added to the sediment. Although both lab and field amendments of phosphorus substantially reduced the bioavailability of lead, lead concentrations in the tissues of mallards fed the amended sediments were still above those believed to be harmful to waterfowl. Based on earlier studies of sediment toxicity to waterfowl in the Coeur dAlene River Basin, combined with the results of our amendment study, the addition of phosphoric acid as we used it might only significantly benefit waterfowl where sediments or soils contain less than 1,000–2,000 g/g lead.     

Bioavailability of Lead and Cadmium in Soils Artificially Contaminated with Smelter Fly Ash

This study evaluated lead and cadmium uptake by maize grown on soils artificially spiked with smelter fly ash and possible changes in chemical fractionation of these metals in the soil. Maize grown on the less contaminated soil (1,466 mg Pb kg⁻¹; 19 mg Cd kg⁻¹) did not exhibit any chlorosis/necrosis symptoms or lower biomass yields compared to the control. The addition of the chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid increased lead uptake by maize, as expected. Neither maize cultivation nor the addition of the chelant influenced significantly the chemical fractionation of lead and cadmium in the soil during the experiment.     

Phosphorus Amendment Reduces Hematological Effects of Lead in Mallards Ingesting Contaminated Sediments

Lead poisoning of waterfowl has been reported for decades in the Coeur d’Alene River Basin (CDARB) in Idaho as a result of the ingestion of lead-contaminated sediments. This study was conducted to determine whether the addition of phosphoric acid to sediments would reduce the bioavailability and toxicity of lead to mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) as related to adverse hematological effects and altered plasma chemistries. Mallards received diets containing 12% clean sediment (controls) or 12% sediment from three different CDARB sites containing 4520, 5390, or 6990 μg/g lead (dw) with or without phosphoric acid amendment. Blood lead concentrations were significantly higher in all CDARB treatment groups and ranged from geometric mean values of 5.0 μg/g for the first two sites to 6.2 μg/g for the third site. With amendments, all blood lead concentrations became 41% to 64% lower. Red blood cell ALAD activity was depressed by 90% or more with lead-contaminated sediment from all sites and did not differ with amended diets. Free erythrocyte protoporphyrin (FEP) concentrations were elevated by contaminated sediment from all sites. Amendment decreased the elevations in FEP by as much as 80%. Hematocrit values and hemoglobin concentrations were lower for all lead site sediments by as much as 30% for site 3. Plasma enzyme activities for ALT, CK, and LDH-L were elevated by as much as 2.2-fold, and plasma creatinine concentration was 1.7-fold higher for site 3 sediment. Amendments restored hematocrit, hemoglobin, and plasma enzyme activities so that they did not differ from controls. Although amendments of phosphorus substantially reduced the bioavailability of lead and alleviated many of the adverse hematological effects, lead concentrations in the blood of mallards fed the amended sediments were still above those believed to be harmful to waterfowl under the present conditions.     

Effects of Lead Pollution at Industrial Contaminated Sites on Sentinel Juvenile Achatina achatina

We investigated juvenile Achatina achatina snails exposed as sentinels in plastic cages for 12 weeks to compare lead pollution at dump sites of abandoned battery factory (Niger Delta, Nigeria). Results indicated 0.56, 20.37, 200.42 and 1200.30 μg/g soil lead at control, storage, dried effluent and waste dump sites, respectively. There were significant (p < 0.05) depression in snail growth with increasing level of lead pollution. Snails were tolerant of all levels of lead pollution with no mortalities. This novel approach provides a basis for use of snail data in environmental pollution assessment of industrial sites.     

Re-emergence of Lead Poisoning from Contaminated Flour in a West Bank Palestinian Village

Abstract

Although contaminated flour was first described as an important source of endemic lead poisoning in the Middle East almost 20 years ago, the use of lead in community flour mills has not been eliminated and continues to represent a significant environmental risk. The authors describe an outbreak of lead poisoning in a West Bank Palestinian family and draw attention to this unusual but important source of lead exposure. All 13 members of the family (two children and 11 adults), were found to have lead poisoning following hospitalization for “gastroenteritis,” headache, joint pain, weight loss, and vision difficulties. Seven females had low hemoglobin levels. Blood lead concentrations ranged from 42 to 84 μg/dL. Household flour samples obtained from a stone mill, previously closed because of lead contamination, contained 2,000 ppm lead. Flour from traditional stone mills reinforced with lead joints remains a potential source for lead poisoning.     

Lead/Cadmium Contamination and Lead Isotopic Ratios in Vegetables Grown in Peri-Urban and Mining/Smelting Contaminated Sites in Nanjing,China

Lead/cadmium contamination in vegetables grown in peri-urban area of Nanjing, China was assessed and the route for metals entering into plants was investigated through lead isotopic tracing. Results show that agricultural soils have been polluted with Cd. Contents of Pb (22.1–37.5 mg kg⁻¹ dw) and Cd (2.53–4.19 mg kg⁻¹ dw) in vegetables’ edible parts nearby a lead/zinc mining/smelting plant were beyond their maximum allowable limit prescribed in the (EC) No 1881/2006. Pb isotope ratios in plants differed from those in the corresponding soils, suggesting that soils were not the only contamination source of Pb and Cd in plants.     

Effects of Flooding on Changes in Eh,pH and Speciation of Cadmium and Lead in Contaminated Soil

Artificially contaminated soils (A, B) and naturally contaminated soil (S2) in China were used as the tested soils, and the effect of continuous flooding on the changes of Eh, pH and the speciation of cadmium, lead in contaminated soils was studied in the paper. The results indicated that soil Eh decreased with flooding time, and that soil pH increased with flooding time. The changes of soil pH ceased after 60 days of submergence. The exchangeable Cd and Pb decreased obviously during the flooding process from the results of five-step sequential extraction. The calculations of mobility factor (MF) showed that Cd mobility significantly decreased in artificially contaminated soils (A, B) after the flood. But the change of Pb mobility was not significant after the flood, although a decrease of Pb concentration in the exchangeable fraction (SE) was observed.     

Absorption of Zinc and Lead by Dittrichia viscosa Grown in a Contaminated Soil Amended with Olive-Derived Wastes

No abstract available.     

Lead and Cadmium Exposure from Contaminated Soil among Residents of a Farm Area near an Industrial Site

In this study, the authors determined the degree of lead and cadmium exposure in a population that resided in an area with contaminated soil. The extent of exposure from soil pollution was also assessed. Lead and cadmium concentrations in blood of children and adults who resided in the contaminated area were measured, and cadmium concentration in urine of adults was also determined. An adult control group was recruited from a non-polluted area. The mean blood lead level in adults who resided in the polluted area was 9.8 μg/dl, compared with a mean level of 6.8 μg/dl in controls (p = .004). Urinary cadmium levels were well below the level associated with onset of symptoms, but the differences between levels in residents of the contaminated area (0.54 μg/gm creatinine) and levels in the controls (0.37 μg/gm creatinine) indicated that life-long cadmium exposure had been higher among the residents of the contaminated area (p = .086). The mean blood lead level and mean blood cadmium level in children were 5.2 μg/dl (maximum = 7.90 μg/dl) and 0.10 μg/l, respectively. Lead in soil accounted in large part for the differences in blood lead levels in children; however, blood cadmium levels were not associated with soil cadmium levels, but, rather, with consumption of home-grown vegetables.