EHESP - School of Public Health, Sorbonne Paris Cité, 35043 Rennes, France.
Environ Health. 2011 Aug 28;10:75. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-10-75.
The amount of lead in the environment has decreased significantly in recent years, and so did exposure. However, there is no known safe exposure level and, therefore, the exposure of children to lead, although low, remains a major public health issue. With the lower levels of exposure, it is becoming more difficult to identify lead sources and new approaches may be required for preventive action. This study assessed the usefulness of lead isotope ratios for identifying sources of lead using data from a nationwide sample of French children aged from six months to six years with blood lead levels ≥25 μg/L.
Blood samples were taken from 125 children, representing about 600,000 French children; environmental samples were taken from their homes and personal information was collected. Lead isotope ratios were determined using quadrupole ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry) and the isotopic signatures of potential sources of exposure were matched with those of blood in order to identify the most likely sources.
In addition to the interpretation of lead concentrations, lead isotope ratios were potentially of use for 57% of children aged from six months to six years with blood lead level ≥ 25 μg/L (7% of overall children in France, about 332,000 children), with at least one potential source of lead and sufficiently well discriminated lead isotope ratios. Lead isotope ratios revealed a single suspected source of exposure for 32% of the subjects and were able to eliminate at least one unlikely source of exposure for 30% of the children.
In France, lead isotope ratios could provide valuable additional information in about a third of routine environmental investigations.
近年来，环境中的铅含量显著下降，接触铅的情况也随之减少。然而，目前尚不知道安全的接触水平，因此，儿童接触铅的情况虽然较低，但仍然是一个主要的公共卫生问题。由于接触水平较低，现在越来越难以确定铅的来源，可能需要采取新的方法来采取预防措施。本研究使用来自法国 6 个月至 6 岁血铅水平≥25μg/L 的全国性儿童样本的数据，评估了使用铅同位素比值来识别铅源的有用性。
从 125 名儿童中采集血样，代表约 60 万法国儿童；从他们的家中采集环境样本，并收集个人信息。使用四极杆 ICP-MS（电感耦合等离子体质谱）测定铅同位素比值，并将潜在暴露源的同位素特征与血液中的同位素特征进行匹配，以确定最可能的来源。
除了解释铅浓度外，铅同位素比值对于 57%的 6 个月至 6 岁血铅水平≥25μg/L 的儿童（法国儿童的 7%，约 332,000 名儿童）可能有用，这些儿童至少有一种潜在的铅源，并且铅同位素比值具有足够的分辨力。铅同位素比值揭示了 32%的受试者的单一可疑暴露源，并能够排除 30%的儿童至少一种不太可能的暴露源。
在法国，铅同位素比值可能在大约三分之一的常规环境调查中提供有价值的额外信息。
