The health of lead workers in New Zealand — an overview of management

Abstract

Lead occurs m the earth’s crust throughout the world and has been used by man since early Roman times when, because of its malleablhty and ease of working, it was adopted for plpework, guttermg, and claddmg It was used to line aqueducts and, more importantly, it was fashioned into eating and drmkmg utensils. Water, food, and drmk, therefore, were m contact with, and to a greater or lesser degree contammated by, lead before bemg mgested This, m part, no doubt accounts for the far shorter lifespan of those days. Lead continued to be used throughout the centunes but it was not u&l the mdustmal revolution m the mid-1800s that vast quantities of lead were required for the manufacture of new machmes and engineering projects such as bridges and large factones and bmldmgs. The use of lead-based pamts increased enormously, as the preservation quality of the metal was well known. The workmg condltlons throughout industry were appallmg with little or no regard to safety or health. The plight of the lead worker mattered little and lead absorption and polsonmg amongst this group was the accepted norm. By the turn of the nineteenth century, mdustrlal reform was well under way, and regulations governing the control of the use of lead and, consequently, the health of the work force were Implemented, and these have continued to be Improved up to the present day. It was fortunate that the health hazards of lead were well recogmsed before the advent of lead/ acid battery manufacture which rapidly expanded m the 1920s and 1930s and has contmued to grow until it now consumes the major part of all lead usage. It 1s therefore towards the health management of the battery manufacturmg work force that this paper IS pnmanly directed