Lalor Gerald, Vutchkov Mitko, Bryan Sean
International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
Sci Total Environ. 2007 Mar 15;374(2-3):235-41. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.12.045. Epub 2007 Feb 20.
An island-wide survey of 1081 basic school children, mainly in the age group 2-6 years, is reported. The range of blood lead levels (BLLs) was 1.4 to 202 microg/dL with arithmetic and geometric means of 7.3 microg/dL (standard deviation, 13 microg/dL) and 4.35 microg/dL respectively. Two hundred and thirty children were identified with blood lead levels above 10 microg/dL and among these, 80 were provided with medical attention and of eleven who received chelation, six children were desperately ill from acute lead poisoning necessitating repeated sessions of chelation therapy. The higher blood lead values were found mainly in poor areas of the urban Kingston and St. Andrew Corporate Area, and in St. Catherine where there remain observable though reduced effects from a lead-contaminated area. Environmental interventions, including building an increased national awareness, have also been carried out to reduce the immediate and future dangers of lead poisoning. The most important source of the lead exposure is the recovery of lead from old automobile batteries and even a quite small smelter can contaminate a significant area. Further work is in progress to identify and examine historical and active smelter sites, their possible effects on childhood health, and their remediation.
报告了一项对1081名小学生的全岛范围调查，这些学生主要年龄在2至6岁。血铅水平（BLLs）范围为1.4至202微克/分升，算术平均值和几何平均值分别为7.3微克/分升（标准差为13微克/分升）和4.35微克/分升。确定有230名儿童血铅水平高于10微克/分升，其中80人接受了医疗护理，在接受螯合疗法的11人中，有6名儿童因急性铅中毒病情危急，需要反复进行螯合治疗。较高的血铅值主要出现在金斯敦市区和圣安德鲁行政区的贫困地区，以及圣凯瑟琳，在那里尽管铅污染地区的影响有所减轻，但仍可观察到。还开展了环境干预措施，包括提高全国的认识，以减少铅中毒的当前和未来危险。铅暴露的最重要来源是从旧汽车电池中回收铅，即使是一个相当小的冶炼厂也可能污染大片区域。目前正在进一步开展工作，以识别和检查历史上和现有的冶炼厂场址、它们对儿童健康可能产生的影响以及进行整治。
