Objectives To monitor the blood lead level and lead poisoning in 7~12 year-old children living in the periphery of a chemical industry region in Nanjing.
Methods Blood samples were collected by randomized cluster sampling method once a year in 2009-2011.Blood lead level was determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and the quality of detection was controlled.
Results The median level of blood lead decreased from 2009 to 2011 (P=0.001), which was 27.38 μg/L, 25.02 μg/L and 22.46 μg/L in 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively. The prevalence rate of lead poisoning decreased from 2.74% to 1.00% (P=0.069). The median level of blood lead was higher in boys (26.12 μg/L) than in girls (23.13 μg/L), the prevalence rate of lead poisoning in boys (9.77%) was higher than that in girls (6.96%;P=0.057).No significant difference was observed on blood lead level and lead poisoning rate (P=0.392, P=0.991) among each age group.
Conclusions The surveillance showed a decreasing trend of blood lead level and lead poisoning rate of children living in the periphery of a chemical industry region in Nanjing, but the children were still in an environment at low lead exposure.
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