Journal of Applied Biosciences (J. Appl. Biosci.) [ISSN 1997 - 5902]
Volume 14: 796 - 799. Published February 2, 2009.
Total blood and urinary lead levels in battery charging artisans in two metropolitan cities of South West Nigeria
Abiola Olusegun Peter
Department of Science Laboratory Technology, The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: Battery charging workers in urban centers in Nigeria are exposed to excessive inhalation of lead fumes, oral ingestion and dermal absorption of lead particles when dismantling disused lead accumulators, washing the lead cells in water and smelting the cells. This study investigated the likely effects of this exposure on health
Methodology and results: Blood and urine samples of a total of forty battery charging workers and twenty control subjects randomly drawn from Lagos and Ibadan towns were analyzed for total lead concentrations using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. For the mean blood lead levels in Lagos and Ibadan were 112.5±14.24 and 93.85±16.70 µg/dL respectively, which far exceeded the normal level of 40 µg/dL and even the permissible maximum of 80µg/dL. Mean urinary lead was 46.9±7.94 and 54.0±10.42 µg/dL for Lagos and Ibadan, 45.60±10.27µg/dL in blood and urine respectively, which was significantly lower than the exposed group. A total of 53 of the 60 subjects studied (controls inclusive) had blood and urinary lead levels greater than the normal limit of 40 µg/dL. The greater economic activity in Lagos could possibly have contributed to the significantly higher blood levels of battery chargers as compared to Ibadan.
Conclusion and application of findings: Our findings confirm earlier reports indicating that lead pollutants have shifted from the category of an occupational hazard to an environmental one. Considering the health implications associated with plumbism or sub chronic lead poisoning, it is hereby suggested that awareness campaigns should be initiated to reduce exposure and risk to human health in Nigeria
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