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Gupta et al. | Journal of Clinical and Translational Research 2024; 10(3): 201-208 205
water in each group was more than 10 µg/L. In Group 2, the lead L-canned water are significant risk factors for high BLLs, i.e.,
levels were 29.34 µg/L in a sample of household filter water and ≥5 µg/dL. On adjustment in multivariate logistic regression,
18.06 µg/L in a sample of facility-based water. In Group 3, the male gender and direct occupational exposure are significant
lead levels were 16.43 µg/L in a sample of municipality water. risk factors for high BLLs, i.e., ≥5 µg/dL (Table 5).
Bivariate analysis revealed that age ≥40 years, male gender,
direct occupational exposure, education <10 class, lower 4. Discussion
th
socioeconomic status, use of alcohol, and drinking from 20 The present study was conducted to estimate and compare
BLLs among the adult population with and without occupational
Table 3. Distribution of participants in the three groups by occupation lead exposure. The present study was the first of its kind for
Occupation Number of participants, n (%) its community-based BLL estimation among three different
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Total exposed groups in Andhra Pradesh, India, namely direct
Carpenter, or 15 (25.00) 15 (8.30) occupational exposure, indirect air pollution exposure, and
welding worker indirect non-occupational exposure to lead. This study found
Car mechanics 5 (8.30) 5 (2.80) that the majority of participants had high BLLs. The WHO has
Painters 22 (36.70) 22 (12.20) established a reference value of 5 µg/dL BLL as the threshold at
Construction worker 18 (30.00) 18 (10.00) which public health action is recommended [14]. In the present
Petrol bunkers 8 (13.33) 8 (4.44) study, mean BLLs in all three groups were higher than the
Auto drivers 20 (33.30) 20 (11.10) reference value. In India, the Bureau of Indian Standards set
Traffic police 30 (50.00) 30 (16.70) a maximum permissible limit of 10 µg/L for lead in drinking
Driver 2 (3.30) 2 (1.10) water [15]. The lead content in all four samples of 20 L-canned
Office workers 24 (40.00) 28 (15.60) water and one reverse osmosis (RO) plant was more than
ASHA and 25 (41.70) 25 (13.90) permissible.
Anganwadi worker Occupational lead exposure may occur in various labor-
Teachers 5 (8.30) 5 (2.80) based fields, such as construction, painting, smelting, and
Student 2 (3.30) 2 (1.10) others. Therefore, the BLL of these workers is much higher
Manual labor 2 (3.30) 2 (1.10) than in the general population. In the air, lead particles can be
Housewife 1 (1.70) 1 (60.00) inhaled by individuals and enter their bloodstream. The WHO
Private job 1 (1.70) 1 (1.70) has established a guideline value for lead in outdoor air of
Total 60 (100.00) 60 (100.00) 60 (100.00) 180 (100.00) 0.5 µg/m³ [16]. Despite the use of unleaded fuels in some parts
Abbreviation: ASHA: Accredited social health activist. of India, lead levels in outdoor air still exceed this guideline [17].
In the present study, the not occupationally exposed group
mainly consisted of primary health-care workers and office-
Table 4. Lead content in water samples among the three studied
groups (n=12) based workers. While not being exposed to occupational lead
Sample type Water lead content (µg/L) or air pollution zones, the mean BLL in this group was also
more than 5 µg/dL. One of the primary reasons for the high
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 BLL in this group could be the use of 20 L-canned water for
20 L-canned water 16.38 12.23 65.11 drinking purposes. The finding suggests that the purification
Household filter water 7.28 29.34 7.56 techniques for these water plants are suboptimal. RO plants
Facility-based water 4.79 18.06 7.71 should be equipped with updated technology for testing heavy
Municipality water 7.1 7.5 16.43 metals. Although lead can enter the water supply from a variety

Figure 1. Distribution of study participants by blood lead levels.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36922/jctr.23.00130