The lead industry and public health.

In 2003, the Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics (AOEC) formed a panel to develop consensus guidelines for the treatment of lead-exposed adults. However, a consensus was never reached due to interference from lead industry representatives. Lead industry interference in the AOEC panel is one instance of a long history of industry opposition to occupational and public health measures to prevent lead poisoning because of potential costs to the industry. At the time the AOEC panel was formed, no published guidelines existed for the medical management of lead exposure in adults comparable to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for managing lead exposure in children. Representatives of the lead industry frustrated the AOEC panel by insisting that "feasibility" (economic issues) be part of the medical decision-making process.

Recommendations for medical management of adult lead exposure.

Research conducted in recent years has increased public health concern about the toxicity of lead at low dose and has supported a reappraisal of the levels of lead exposure that may be safely tolerated in the workplace. In this article, which appears as part of a mini-monograph on adult lead exposure, we summarize a body of published literature that establishes the potential for hypertension, effects on renal function, cognitive dysfunction, and adverse female reproductive outcome in adults with whole-blood lead concentrations < 40 microg/dL. Based on this literature, and our collective experience in evaluating lead-exposed adults, we recommend that individuals be removed from occupational lead exposure if a single blood lead concentration exceeds 30 microg/dL or if two successive blood lead concentrations measured over a 4-week interval are > or = 20 microg/dL. Removal of individuals from lead exposure should be considered to avoid long-term risk to health if exposure control measures over an extended period do not decrease blood lead concentrations to < 10 microg/dL or if selected medical conditions exist that would increase the risk of continued exposure. Recommended medical surveillance for all lead-exposed workers should include quarterly blood lead measurements for individuals with blood lead concentrations between 10 and 19 microg/dL, and semiannual blood lead measurements when sustained blood lead concentrations are < 10 microg/dL. It is advisable for pregnant women to avoid occupational or avocational lead exposure that would result in blood lead concentrations > 5 microg/dL. Chelation may have an adjunctive role in the medical management of highly exposed adults with symptomatic lead intoxication but is not recommended for asymptomatic individuals with low blood lead concentrations.

A retrospective occupational cohort study of end-stage renal disease in aircraft workers exposed to trichloroethylene and other hydrocarbons.

OBJECTIVE: Case-control studies suggest hydrocarbons increase end-stage renal disease (ESRD) risk. No cohort studies have been conducted. METHODS: An occupational database was matched to the U.S. Renal Data System, and the outcome of all-cause ESRD was examined using multivariable Cox regression. Sixteen individual hydrocarbons were studied, although exposures were not mutually exclusive. RESULTS: For the 1973-2000 period, there was an approximate twofold increased risk of ESRD among workers exposed to trichloroethylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, and JP4 gasoline compared with unexposed subjects (all P < 0.05). Relative risk was greater than unity (P > 0.05) for several other hydrocarbons. Associations attenuated (all P > 0.05) when 2001-2002 data were included in the analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Certain hydrocarbons may increase all-cause ESRD risk. Uncertainty regarding the mechanism for increased risk and the observed attenuation in risk in 2001-2002, as well as the overlap of exposures, complicates interpretation. Additional research is needed.

FIOH-sponsored newsletter misrepresents asbestos hazards in Zimbabwe.

The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) has received support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Office (ILO) to publish the African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety. The African Newsletter on Occupational Health and Safety should not be a medium for industry propaganda, or the source of misinformation among the workers of Africa. Instead, FIOH should provide the same level of scientific information in Africa that it does in Finland and other developed countries.

Cognitive effects of chronic exposure to lead and solvents.

BACKGROUND: Occupational exposure to lead and solvents has declined steadily over the past 20 years, however, construction workers continue to be exposed to these neurotoxicants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the cognitive effects of chronic occupational exposure to lead and solvents. METHOD: Based on K-XRF of tibial bone lead and occupational history of solvent exposure, subjects were classified into four exposure groups: lead (N = 40), solvent (N = 39), lead/solvent (N = 45), and control (N = 33). All subjects completed tests to assess concentration, motor skills, memory, and mood. RESULTS: Relative to controls, the lead, solvent, and lead/solvent groups performed significantly more poorly on a test of verbal memory, while the lead and lead/solvent groups were slower than the solvent and control groups on a task of processing speed. Bone lead was a significant predictor of information processing speed and latency of response while solvent exposure was a significant predictor of verbal learning and memory. CONCLUSIONS: Bone lead was associated with slower speed of processing while exposure to lead and/or solvents reduced efficiency of verbal learning.