Abstract
BackgroundIn Ethiopia, although there are numerous small-scale and medium industries which use lead-based raw materials that may pose health risks to workers, there are no workplace regulations for lead exposure. Moreover, there are no studies carried out on the blood lead levels (BLLs) of workers or on the contribution of common workplace practices to lead poisoning.MethodA cross-sectional study on the BLLs of 45 automotive garage workers and 40 non-garage workers was carried out in the town of Jimma, Ethiopia. In addition to BLL analysis, data on some risk factors such as smoking, and chewing ‘khat’ (the leaves of Catha adulis) were gathered through structured questionnaires and interviews and data analysis was performed using SPSS (version 16). The t-test was used to compare mean BLLs of study groups. The analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis, Pearson chi-square and odds ratio tests were used to investigate the associations between specific job type, smoking and/or ‘khat’ chewing, service years and occurrence of non-specific symptoms with BLLs.ResultsThe mean BLL of the automotive-garage workers was found to be significantly greater than that of the controls. The BLLs of all the lead-exposed individuals were found to be over 10 μg/dL, and 53% of them had BLLs ranging 12 – 20 μg/dL, with the remaining 47% having over 20 μg/dL. The BLL of the workers increased with the duration of working in an automotive garage.Individuals involved in manual car painting comprise a larger percentage (58%) of those with the highest BLLs (≥ 20 μg/dL). Lead accumulation in individuals who chew ‘khat’ in the work place was found to be faster than in those who are not used to chewing ‘khat’. ‘Khat’ is an evergreen shrub native to tropical East Africa, with dark green opposite leaves which are chewed when fresh for their stimulating effects.ConclusionThe findings of the study have clearly demonstrated that the BLLs of automotive-garage workers in Jimma town are considerably high with a range of 11.73 – 36.52 μg/dL and the workers are in danger of impending lead toxicity. The BLLs of the workers are influenced by their occupational practices, chewing Catha adulis leaves at the workplace, and the time spent working in an automotive garage.
Highlights
In Ethiopia, there are numerous small-scale and medium industries which use lead-based raw materials that may pose health risks to workers, there are no workplace regulations for lead exposure
The blood lead levels (BLLs) of all the lead-exposed individuals were found to be over 10 μg/dL, and 53% of them had BLLs ranging 12 – 20 μg/dL, with the remaining 47% having over 20 μg/dL
The findings of the study have clearly demonstrated that the BLLs of automotive-garage workers in Jimma town are considerably high with a range of 11.73 – 36.52 μg/dL and the workers are in danger of impending lead toxicity
Summary
In Ethiopia, there are numerous small-scale and medium industries which use lead-based raw materials that may pose health risks to workers, there are no workplace regulations for lead exposure. There are no studies carried out on the blood lead levels (BLLs) of workers or on the contribution of common workplace practices to lead poisoning. Its toxic effects have been known for centuries, occupational exposure to lead that results in poisoning, be it moderately or clinically symptomatic, is still common in many countries of the world [1,2]. Excessive occupational exposure over a brief period of time can cause a syndrome of acute lead poisoning. Clinical findings in this syndrome include abdominal colic, constipation, fatigue and central nervous system dysfunction. Children are susceptible to lead intoxication that causes various neurological and behavioural problems, ranging from raised hearing threshold to reduction in intelligence quotient (IQ) at low blood lead concentrations. The level of concern has changed over the past few decades, from 60 μg/dL (1960), to 30 μg/dL (1970), to 25 μg/dL (1985), to 10 μg/dL (1991) [4]
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