Study and models of total lead exposures of battery workers.

In an attempt to establish a more realistic and reliable model for relating environmental exposure measurements to the biological indices of exposure, a study was undertaken to quantify the total sources of lead exposure among lead storage battery workers. In addition to the usual personal and area lead air sampling, quantitative and repeatable measurements of removable lead from work surfaces and the workers' hands and faces were obtained daily for ten consecutive work days in the pasting and battery assembly departments. Mathematical correlations of blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) levels as the dependent variable with the lead exposure sources were derived and demonstrated most strongly as log-log relationships. Statistical analyses by computer programming indicated that the airborne, hand, facial and work surface levels have a high degree of inter-correlation with a very significant positive individual correlation with blood lead levels and a somewhat lower correlation with ZPP. The results suggest that contaminated personal and work surfaces may play a more significant role in toxic occupational and environmental exposures, generally, than had heretofore been demonstrated or suspected.