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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on March 30, 2005
Occupational Medicine 2005 55(5):371-374; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqi050
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H. Mason, Health & Safety Laboratory. © Crown Copyright 2005. Reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

The decay of blood lead levels in workers suspended under the control of lead at work regulations

H. Mason and N. Williams

Broad Lane—Health and Safety Laboratory, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK

Aims To study the rate of decline in blood lead levels post-suspension under Control of Lead at Work Regulations (CLAW) and thereby suggest sampling frequencies for follow-up blood lead measurements.

Methods A retrospective cohort of lead workers with blood lead levels over the current suspension level were identified from blood lead records. Data on their suspension and follow-up blood lead measurements were obtained.

Results Sixteen per cent of the identified cohort did not appear to return to lead work under CLAW. Twenty-seven suspension cases with an initial mean blood lead of 79 µg/dl (3.82 µmol/l) formed the dataset for analysis of decline in blood lead levels. The mean length of time between the blood sample indicating suspension and the first follow-up blood sample was 32 days. The mean length of suspension under CLAW was 61 days. The mean initial rate of blood lead decay was 0.659 µg/dl per day (0.032 µmol/l per day), although with a wide range. The rate of decline in blood lead after suspension was increased by the blood lead level at suspension, but was decreased by increasing past cumulative exposure.

Conclusions A follow-up blood lead sample 1 month after suspension should show a mean decrease between 13 and 26 µg/dl (0.63–1.25 µmol/l), which is substantially greater than that due to analytical ‘noise’ associated with two sequential measurements (approximately 5 µg/dl). Therefore, a follow-up blood sample taken around 3–4 weeks after suspension would seem practical. A decrease in blood lead of 7–8 µg/dl (0.36 µmol/l) or less in the month after suspension may suggest continuing lead exposure.

Keywords      CLAW; blood lead levels; lead workers; suspension levels

Correspondence to: Howard Mason, Health and Safety Laboratory, Harpur Hill, Buxton SK17 9JN, UK. Tel: +44 1298 218413; fax: +44 1298 218172.


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