Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering IBMT, Sulzbach, Germany.
German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), Berlin, Germany.
Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2021 Jan;231:113665. doi: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113665. Epub 2020 Nov 19.
Lead is a ubiquitous pollutant with well-known effects on human health. As there is no lower toxicological threshold for lead in blood and since data gaps on lead exposure still exist in many European countries, HBM data on lead is of high importance. To address this, the European Human Biomonitoring Initiative HBM4EU classified lead as a priority substance. The German Environmental Specimen Bank (German ESB) has monitored lead exposure since more than 35 years. Using data from the early 1980s to 2019 we reveal and discuss long-term trends in blood lead levels (BLLs) and current internal exposure of young adults in Germany. BLLs in young adults decreased substantially in the investigated period. As results from the ESB sampling site Muenster demonstrate, the geometric mean of BLLs of young adults decreased from 1981 (78,7 μg/L) to 2019 (10.4 μg/L) by about 87%. Trends in human exposure closely correlate with air lead levels (ALLs) provided by the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP). Hence, the decrease of BLLs largely reflects the drop in air lead pollution. Known associations of sex, smoking, alcohol consumption, and housing situation with BLLs are confirmed with data of the German ESB. Although internal lead exposure in Germany decreased substantially, the situation might be different in other European countries. Since 2010, BLLs of young adults in Germany levelled out at approximately 10 μg/L. The toxicity of lead even at low levels is known to cause adverse health effects especially in children following exposure of the child or the mother during pregnancy. To identify current exposure sources and to minimize future lead exposure, continuous monitoring of lead intake and exposure levels is needed.
铅是一种普遍存在的污染物，对人类健康有众所周知的影响。由于血液中铅的毒性阈值没有更低值，而且许多欧洲国家仍然存在铅暴露数据空白，因此人体生物监测数据（HBM）中的铅含量非常重要。为此，欧洲人体生物监测倡议 HBM4EU 将铅列为优先物质。德国环境标本库（German ESB）自 35 多年前就开始监测铅暴露情况。利用 1980 年代初至 2019 年的数据，我们揭示并讨论了德国年轻人血液铅水平（BLL）和当前内部暴露的长期趋势。在研究期间，年轻人的 BLL 显著下降。正如 ESB 采样点明斯特的结果所示，年轻人的 BLL 几何平均值从 1981 年（78.7μg/L）下降到 2019 年（10.4μg/L），降幅约为 87%。人类暴露趋势与欧洲监测和评价计划（EMEP）提供的大气铅水平（ALL）密切相关。因此，BLL 的下降在很大程度上反映了大气铅污染的下降。已知性别、吸烟、饮酒和住房状况与 BLL 之间的关联得到了德国 ESB 数据的证实。尽管德国的内部铅暴露量大幅下降，但其他欧洲国家的情况可能有所不同。自 2010 年以来，德国年轻人的 BLL 水平稳定在 10μg/L 左右。即使在低水平下，铅的毒性也已知会导致不良健康影响，尤其是在儿童或母亲在怀孕期间暴露于铅的情况下。为了确定当前的暴露源并最大限度地减少未来的铅暴露，需要持续监测铅摄入量和暴露水平。
