Abstract
Lead poisoning is a public health problem in many areas of the world. Children are at particularly high risk for adverse effects of lead exposure; even at low concentrations, lead can affect physical, mental, and behavioral development. Children living near lead-zinc mines are at high risk for environmental lead poisoning, especially the contaminated soil. We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study in Ban Thi Commune, northern Vietnam. 195 children (92,9% participation) aged 3-14 years old (average: 7.69 ± 2.90) were randomly selected from a list of all children prepared by the village health collaborators. 109 (55.90%) were boys and 86 (44.10%) were girls. The research measures were the lead concentration in native soil and the children's total blood lead concentration determined by the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method. The results showed that lead content in soil was many times higher than American Environmental Protection Agency and Vietnam standards (average 2980.23 ± 6092.84 mg/kg dry weight of soil (range 80.05 – 33820.62)). Average blood lead levels for children were 15.42 ± 6.45 μg/dL (95% CI: 14.50 -16.33 μg/dL). The percentage of children with lead levels >10 μg/dL (value considered to be lead poisoning for children according to the Ministry of Health of Vietnam) was 79.49% of the total number of children. None of the children in this study had blood lead level (BLL) that required chelation treatment according to Vietnam MOH guideline (BLL ≥45 μg/dL). There is weakly evidence that lead exposure relates to the physical development of children. Children with low lead concentrations (less than 10 μg/dL) had height and weight of 1.47-3.51 cm and 1.19-2.81 kg, greater than those with BLL >10 μg/dL (p>0.05).
Highlights
Lead is a heavy metal with high toxicity and harmful effects on human health
All soil samples have lead content in excess of Vietnam’s standards (70 mg/kg for resident soil) comparing to the reference blood lead level established by EPA, and 80% (24/30) samples had PbS exceeding EPA form lead content in children’s play area, of which 8 samples have lead content of 400-1200 mg/kg, 5 samples of 1200- 2000 mg/kg, 7 samples of 2000-5000 mg/kg, 4 samples of >5000 mg/kg (Figure 2)
The percentage of children with blood lead levels >10 μg/dL was 79.49% of total children
Summary
Lead is a heavy metal with high toxicity and harmful effects on human health. Due to its widespread use, lead poisoning is still a public health issue of concern, in developing countries [1].People are exposed to lead poisoning from a variety of sources such as industrial production (mining, metallurgy, battery manufacture, and recycling), using leaded gasoline, lead paint, electronic waster, lead-contaminated food and water, and some traditional medicines [2].Children who are more likely to be exposed to and affected by lead poisoning are more serious cases than adults due to the specific physiological and behavioral characteristics of the developing organism [3, 4]. Lead is a heavy metal with high toxicity and harmful effects on human health. Due to its widespread use, lead poisoning is still a public health issue of concern, in developing countries [1]. Children who are more likely to be exposed to and affected by lead poisoning are more serious cases than adults due to the specific physiological and behavioral characteristics of the developing organism [3, 4]. Children breathe in the air close to the ground having more dust and lead than the abovethe-ground air. Children absorb a greater amount of lead through the digestive tract than adults due to the incomplete digestive system, or digestive disorders and iron and calcium deficiency. Lead crosses the blood-brain barrier and damages the immature nervous system of the child
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