OCCUPATIONAL WORKERS EXPOSURE TO LEAD COMPARED TO A PREVIOUS STUDY CONDUCTED IN 2010 IN DOHUK CITY- KURDISTAN, IRAQ.
Main Article Content
Abstract
Background:
Although the toxicity of lead has been known for thousands of years, lead remains one of the most common environmental hazards for humane. There are many sources of lead exposure, such as soil contaminated from years of leaded gasoline use, lead dust accidentally brought home from parents’ workplaces and hobby areas, lead in plumbing, and some imported products and traditional remedies. Elevated levels of blood lead occurring during the first years of life. Exposure to lead among workers in our country is in the field of work, and that the most work sites in which lead has accumulated are industrial areas, especially works that are used in oil products, All these places are polluted with lead and increase in the percentage of lead among workers, this to be public health problem
Objective: This study aimed to determine levels and nature of lead of occupational workers exposure to lead after 10 year to the previous study conducted in 2010 in Duhok city, Kurdistan, Iraq.
Material and Methods: A cross – sectional study design was conducted on 520 workers exposure to lead to determine the level & Natural of lead exposure. Workers. The study was conducted between 1 October 2022 and 1 Jan 2023.
The samples were male workers age range from 10 to 64 years. The workers were chosen as a convenient sample so that nearly equal number of workers from each area included: Gasoline power generators (n=120) .Industrial urban area (n=100), Traffic policeman (n=100), Petrol failing station (n=100), Petrol storage (n=50) and Battery repairing workshop (n=50).
Pre-tested questionnaire was designed to obtain information on age, residence, current occupation job period in year, and current history of cigarette smoking.. Blood lead level was analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), Perkin Elmer Using a standardized procedure published by the company. Dust lead level was analyzed using the lead test kit (ABOTE × ENTERPRISES limited Ontario and a NOM).
Results
The mean blood lead values among the sample was 19.0 ug/dl, with a standard error of 0.58 and range of 8.2 to 62.6.Of the 520 individuals tested, 59.0% subjects had blood lead level of 10 – 25 ug/dl, while 27.0% of these subjects had blood lead level 25 – 50 ug/dl and 5% had blood lead level > 50 ug/dl .The mean blood lead levels of the battery repairing workers (47.3 ug/dl) was significantly higher (P> 0.001; for all) compared to the gasoline power generator workers, petrol station, traffic policemen, petrol storage, and general work in industrial urban area who had mean blood lead levels of 16.5 ug/dl, 19.7 ug/dl , 11.5 ug/dl, and 14.4 ug/dl; respectively .A statistically-significant relationship was found between blood lead levels and age , amount of cigarettes smoked and dust lead level.
Conclusion
The conclude from this study the percentage of the lead in the blood may increase in the all group within study, duo to the large occurring in all aspects of life in Duhok governorate, where the number of generator increase from 370 in 2011 to 1500 in 2022 an so on the number of petrol stations multiplied dozens of time and so on the number of luxury cars, the number of cars, and the number of the building ,the multiplicity of industrial places ,as well as the population , all of this leads to an increase in the pollution and an increase in the percentage of lead among workers in this field.
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