Study on exposure and early effect biomarkers and isotope fingerprint characteristics of lead-exposed workers in a battery factory
Objective To investigate the levels of blood lead and zinc protoporphyrin(ZPP),urine lead and δ-aminolevulinic acid(δ-ALA),and the fingerprint characteristics of stable lead isotopes among workers exposed to lead,and to analyze their correlations to provide a foundation for studies and applications of lead stable isotope tracing.Methods Taking 40 lead-exposed workers in a lead-acid battery factory in a city as the research object,the relevant conditions such as working age,smoking,drinking,etc.were recorded by a questionnaire.The levels of blood lead,urine lead,and biomarkers associated with lead exposure were measured,as were the lead isotope ratio(LIR)(207/206Pb,208/206Pb,204/206Pb)in blood,urine,environmental samples(workplace dustfall),and water,and statistical analysis was carried out.Results The blood lead level of the subjects was 56.0-757.6 µg/L,with an average of(300.0±159.8)µg/L,and the abnormality rate of 5.0％;the urine lead level was 2.5-235.3 μg/L,with an average of(40.1±45.2)µg/L,and an abnormality rate of 7.5％;the blood ZPP level was 0.13-7.35 μmol/L,with an average of(1.78±1.86)μmol/L,and an abnormality rate of 17.5％;the urine 8-ALA level was 0.71-7.46 mg/L,with an average of(2.78±1.70)mg/L,and an abnormality rate of 7.5％.Pearson correlation analysis showed positive correlations between overall blood lead and blood ZPP,urine lead and urine 8-ALA,and blood lead and urine 8-ALA(r=0.536,0.728,0.511,P＜0.01).Significant statistical differences were found in blood lead and blood ZPP levels among workers with different employment times(P＜0.05),with the higher levels observed in workers with employment times of 1-4 years;non-drinking workers had higher blood ZPP levels than drinking workers(P＜0.05).Workers exposed to lead had higher levels of 208/206Pb and 207/206Pb in their urine than in their blood(P＜0.01).The tap water from the plant showed lower levels of 208/206Pb and 207/206Pb compared to blood and urine(P＜0.01);the workplace dustfall had a lower level of 208/206Pb compared to blood(P＜0.01),and both 207/206Pb and 208/206Pb were lower than those in urine(P＜0.01).There was a negative correlation between blood 207/206Pb,208/206Pb and blood lead levels(r=-0.562,-0.673,P＜0.01)and between blood 208/206Pb and urine 8-ALA levels(r=-0.416,P＜0.01).Urine 207/206Pb and 208/206Pb also showed a negative correlation with urine lead levels(r=-0.613,P＜0.01;r=-0.331,P＜0.05),and urine 206/206Pb had a negative correlation with blood ZPP levels(r=-0.636,P＜0.01).Conclusions Blood lead levels correlated well with blood ZPP and urine 8-ALA and were consistent with LIR in the environment.The difference in LIR in blood and urine indicated that lead may have"fractionation"after entering the human body.
blood leadurine leadblood zinc protoporphyrinurine δ-aminolevulinic acidlead isotope ratio
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