Lead exposure from conventional and cottage lead smelting in Jamaica

ABSTRACT

A survey was conducted to determine the distribution and determinants of environmental and blood lead levels near a conventional and several cottage lead smelters and to assess the relationship between environmental and blood lead levels in a tropical developing-country setting. Fifty-eight households were studied in the Red Pond community, the site of the established smelter and several backyard smelters, and 21 households were studied in the adjacent, upwind Ebony Vale community in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica. Households were investigated, using questionnaires, soil and housedust lead measurements, and blood lead (PbB) measurements from 372 residents. Soil lead levels in Red Pond exceeded 500 parts per million (ppm) at 24 percent of household (maximum--18,600 ppm), compared to 0 percent in Ebony Vale (maximum 150 ppm). Geometric mean PbB levels >25 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL), was more than twice that Ebony Vale in all age groups (p<0.0005). Within Red Pond, proximity to backyard smelters and to the conventional smelter were independent predictors of soil lead (p<0.05). Soil lead was the strongest predictors of PbB among Red Pond subjects under 12 years of age. The blood lead--Soil lead relationship in children differed from that reported in developed countries; blood lead levels were higher than expected for the household-specific soil lead levels that were observed. These data indicate that cottage lead smelters, like conventional ones, are a hazard for nearby residents and that children exposed to lead contamination in tropical, developing countries may be at higher risk for developing elevated blood levels than similarly-exposed children in developed countries (AU)