Use of isotope ratios to identify sources contributing to pediatric lead poisoning in Peru.
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.
Naeher
Luke P
LP
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
Rubin
Carol S
CS
Hernandez-Avila
Mauricio
M
Noonan
Gary P
GP
Paschal
Dan
D
Narciso
Juan
J
Lain
Rocio Espinoza
RE
Gastanaga
Carmen
C
Almeyda
Rosa
R
Jarrett
Jeff
J
Caldwell
Kathleen L
KL
McGeehin
Michael
M
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
D000393:Air Pollutants; D007554:Isotopes; D007854:Lead