Blood Lead Levels (BLLs) on Lead Exposed Male Workers

AbstracThe expansion of industry increases the risk of releasing hazardous substancesto the environment. lead is one of heavy metal that considered to be widely distibuted envirenmental pollutant. Leand is used in several industris such as batteries, accumulators, plastic, etc. The main routes of human exposure to lead through respiratory system, gastrointestinal and dermal contact. The aim of this study was to know the blood lead levels on lead-exposed male works. The study subjects consisted of 24 male workers who where divided into two different groups. Workes in the first group were lead smelter workers, while workwrs in the second group werw unexposed healthy volunteers as control for comparison. The results indicate the blood lead levels of exposed and unexposed groups between 3.80 - 121.5 ug/dL, the mean of blood lead levels of exposed group was 87.57 ug/dL and the unexposed group was 6,9 ug/dL. These study higtlight that average blood lead levels onwokers in exposed group has exceeded the Biological Exposure Index (10-25 ug/dL.Keyword : BLLs, Lead, Exposur