Abstract
Blood lead levels (BLL) in children are associated with lead in soil and represent a major public health problem; however, there are few reports of lead contamination related to mining waste sites in Mexico. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study in the State of Guerrero to identify the association between proximity of residence to mining site waste and BLL in children. The impact of the different variables related to BLL were analyzed with logistic regression. Geometric mean BLL was 13.6 μg/dL, 15.9 μg/dL in communities proximal to waste sites and 5.5 μg/dL in a distant control community. Children living in communities near the mining waste have higher BLL that children living in communities far away from the waste. Our results are similar to studies in other countries and indicate that mining waste sites remain an active source of BLL contamination that affect children’s health.
Highlights
Lead exposure damages health, affecting mainly the nervous system and is associated with hyperactivity and attention and conduct problems [1]
When we stratified the communities according to distance between community domiciles and mining waste sites, we found a GM of Blood lead levels (BLL) concentration in community A = 13.6 μg/dL and in community B, 15.9 μg/dL, different from community C that was further from the mining waste deposits, with 5.5 μg/dL and non-exposed community (D) with 5.5 μg/dL (Table 2)
Our study provides evidence that children living near mining waste sites within rural communities of the Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico mining zone have 8.0 μg/dL higher average BLL in comparison with children in non-exposed communities (Table 3) (p > 0.05); this increase is higher than the contribution made by the use of lead-glazed ceramics
Summary
Lead exposure damages health, affecting mainly the nervous system and is associated with hyperactivity and attention and conduct problems [1]. Children are more vulnerable to the effects of lead, because their intestinal absorption is greater in the first years of life, and the hand-mouth pathway of contaminated particles in soil and dust is the most important lead entrance [2]. In Mexico, use of lead oxide-glazed ceramic ware for food preparation and storage has been an important source of lead ingestion [4,5]. Tailings of open air-deposited mining wastes add lead to soil, household dust, and water supplies in the area. Mine tailings may be another industrial source of lead, as metallurgic industries, for the community residing in proximity to these waste areas
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