title: A comparison of the prevalence of lead-contaminated imported Chinese ceramic dinnerware purchased inside versus outside Philadelphia's Chinatown.
abstract: Lead-contaminated ceramics can be a clinically significant source of lead poisoning, with the potential to cause illness in children and adults; one death in a child has been described. We hypothesized that the prevalence of lead-contaminated ceramics would be higher within Chinatown versus outside of Chinatown. The study was a prospective observational cross-sectional study. Two areas were defined geographically as being within and outside of Philadelphia's Chinatown, and a predefined number of items were purchased in each area. Each item was screened for lead utilizing a colorimetric testing swab. Positive items were leached for lead using the ASTM C738-94 protocol for lead level quantification. The primary outcome was the prevalence of ceramics not compliant with the FDA standard for leachable lead within and outside of Philadelphia's Chinatown. A total of 132 items were purchased, 46 outside of and 86 within Chinatown. More lead-positive items originated within Chinatown than outside of Chinatown [five positive items, 5.8 % prevalence within Chinatown (95 % confidence interval, CI, 2.5-12.9 %), and zero positive, 0 % prevalence outside of Chinatown (95 % CI 0-7.5 %)]. However, this difference was not found to be statistically significant (P = 0.1624). The leachable lead-positive items were up to 40-fold the acceptable FDA levels. Testing a larger number of items may demonstrate a significant source of lead exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. thomas_gilmore@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gilmore
authors.forename: Gerald F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: O'Malley
authors.forename: Wayne Bond
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Vann
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bromberg
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gibbons
authors.forename: Evan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rimmer
mesh_terms: D002516:Ceramics / Q000737:chemistry*; D003297:Cooking and Eating Utensils; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis*; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000517:prevention & control; D015143:Philadelphia; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D007854:Lead