Home lead-work as a potential source of lead exposure for children

Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1983;53(1):37-46. doi: 10.1007/BF00406175.

Abstract

Health examinations for lead poisoning were made on 62 family members from 15 families of homes carrying on lead work, such as quench-hardening in a molten lead bath and type-printing, as work at home. The most interesting findings concern the occurrence of cases with an unduly high lead absorption among children, but not among adult family members other than home lead-workers. The home environments of the children with an unduly high lead absorption represented contamination with housedust high in lead contents. The ingestion of the contaminated housedust by hand-to-mouth is probably responsible for the excessive lead exposure of the affected children. The results of the present study suggest that contamination of housedust with lead due to home lead-work constitutes a possible hazardous source of lead exposure for children.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Air Pollutants, Occupational / analysis*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Dust / analysis
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Female
  • Housing
  • Humans
  • Lead / analysis*
  • Lead / metabolism
  • Lead Poisoning / diagnosis*
  • Male
  • Occupations
  • Risk

Substances

  • Air Pollutants, Occupational
  • Dust
  • Lead