Summary
Chelatable lead (PbU-EDTA) is the best indicator of lead concentration at the critical organ level (indicator of dose). However, since this test is not easily applicable for the biological monitoring of lead-exposed subjects, the current practice is to determine lead in blood (PbB) and/or in urine (PbU). But these tests are indicators of exposure and not of dose. To analyze the reliability of PbB and PbU in estimating lead dose, the relationships between PbU-EDTA and PbB and between PbU-EDTA and PbU were studied in two groups of male lead workers: 48 currently exposed and 45 with past exposure to lead.
In currently exposed workers the correlation between PbU-EDTA and PbB and between PbU-EDTA and PbU was very close (r = 0.85, r = 0.74, respectively); in past exposed workers the correlation with PbU-EDTA was decidedly lower for PbB (r = 0.54) and not significant for PbU (r = 0.29). In both cases the relationship between the variables was linear. In the previously exposed men, PbB displayed lower values than those found in currently exposed men.
These results indicate that both PbB and PbU allow an indirect estimation to be made of the internal dose in currently exposed subjects, whereas the tests cannot be used for this purpose in subjects who have long since ceased to be exposed. In these cases chelatable lead must be determined.
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Alessio, L., Castoldi, M.R., Monelli, O. et al. Indicators of internal dose in current and past exposure to lead. Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath 44, 127–132 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386746
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00386746