title: Use of isotope ratios to identify sources contributing to pediatric lead poisoning in Peru.
abstract: In 1998, a school-based blood lead level (BLL) survey of 2,510 children, conducted in Lima and Callao, Peru, revealed elevated BLLs in children from 2 Callao schools (mean BLL = 25.6 microg/dl; n = 314) and in children from Callao overall (mean BLL = 15.2 microg/dl; n = 898), compared with children from Lima (mean BLL = 7.1 microg/dl; n = 1,612). Public health officials at Peru's Direccion General de Salud Ambiental (DIGESA) hypothesized that a possible source of the elevated pediatric BLLs observed in Callao was a large depository near the port where mineral concentrates are stored prior to shipment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with DIGESA to identify source(s) that contributed to the pediatric lead poisonings by comparing isotopic profiles of lead in blood, mineral, gasoline, and air filter samples. The lead isotope ratio (IR) observed in mineral samples from the depository in Callao differed from those in gasoline samples from Lima and Callao. The blood lead IRs of children living near the depository were similar to the IRs of the mineral samples and different from the IRs of the gasoline samples, suggesting that lead from the depository-and not gasoline-was the primary source of lead in these children. Lead IR analysis of regional air filter samples supported these findings.
authors.affiliation: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. LNaeher@uga.edu
authors.forename: Luke P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Naeher
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.forename: Mauricio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hernandez-Avila
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Noonan
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Paschal
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narciso
authors.forename: Rocio Espinoza
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Lain
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gastanaga
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Almeyda
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jarrett
authors.forename: Kathleen L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Caldwell
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McGeehin
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007554:Isotopes; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008669:Metallurgy; D010568:Peru / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D007554:Isotopes; D007854:Lead