| Lead pollution
poses a special hazard to children |
Selected studies showing high blood lead levels among
children, 1988-95
|
| COUNTRY
(city/region) |
YEAR |
RANGE OF BLOOD LEAD LEVELS
(micrograms per deciliter) |
MEAN |
PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN WITH LEVELS
>10 MICROGRAMS PER DECILITER |
|
| Argentina (urban) |
1989 |
7-42 |
22.1±7 |
NA |
Bulgaria |
| Haskovo |
1995 |
5.5-19.8 |
|
NA |
| Kritehim |
1991 |
4.1-15.1 |
|
NA |
| Kourtove-Kon |
1991 |
6.5-41.3 |
|
NA |
|
| China |
Shenyang
(polluted urban) |
1991 |
NA |
30.5 |
99.5 |
Shenyang
(nonpolluted urban) |
1991 |
NA |
12.2 |
67.9 |
Beijing
(polluted suburban) |
1992 |
NA |
22.4 |
64.9 |
Shanghai
(polluted urban) |
1988 |
5.0-55.0 |
23.4 |
85.6 |
Shanghai
(nonpolluted suburban) |
1988 |
0-55.0 |
18.4 |
88.2 |
|
| Mexico (urban) |
1995 |
1-31 |
9.0±5.8 |
27.8 |
|
| Poland |
| Town with no industrial emitters |
1992-94 |
2.25-2.39 |
|
NA |
| Town with copper and zinc mills |
1992-94 |
7.37-11.40 |
|
NA |
|
| Romania |
| Bucharest |
1995 |
17.10-21.93 |
|
NA
|
|
| Uruguay |
1994 |
1-31 |
9.5 |
NA |
Sources: Argentina, Mexico, and Uruguay: Isabelle Romieu et al., “Lead Exposure in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 105, Number 4 (April 1997), p. 404. Bulgaria and Romania: Danish Environmental Protection Agency, “Second Meeting of the Task Force on the Phaseout of Lead in Gasoline,” Working Document Presenting the Preliminary Results of Country Surveys, Part I (May 1997), p. 25. China: Xiao-ming Shen et al., “Childhood Lead Poisoning in China,” The Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 181 (1996), p. 103.
Note: NA = not available.
|
