Lead Poisoning among Household Members Exposed to Lead-Acid Battery Repair Shops in Kingston, Jamaica

Matte T D (NIOSH, Centers for Disease Control, 1600 Clifton Road, Atlanta GA 30333, USA). Figueroa J P, Ostrowski S, Burr G, Jackson-Hunt L, Keenlyside R A and Baker E L. Lead poisoning among household members exposed to lead-acid battery repair shops in Kingston, Jamaica. International Journal of Epidemiology 1989, 18: 874–881. To investigate the risk of lead poisoning among household members exposed to ‘backyard’ battery repair shops' (BBRS) in Kingston, Jamaica, environmental and blood lead (PbB) were measured at 24 households (112 individuals) with a BBRS worker or located at a BBRS premises and at 18 neighbourhood control households (74 individuals). Elevated PbB (≥25 micrograms per decilitre [μg/dl]) was common among subjects of all ages living at BBRS premises, especially among children less than age 12, 43% of whom had PbB greater than 70 μg/dl. Potentially hazardous soil and house dust lead levels were also common at BBRS premises, where 84% of yards had soil lead levels above 500 parts per million (geometric mean 3388 parts per million [ppm] at BBRS premises households with a BBRS worker). Geometric mean blood and environmental lead levels were significantly lower at control households, where less than 10% of subjects in all age groups had elevated PbB (maximum 33 μg/dl). Sharing a premises with a BBRS was a stronger determinant of household blood lead and environmental contamination than was the presence of a BBRS worker in a household. Blood lead levels were associated with soil and house dust lead levels in all age groups. We conclude that small battery repair shops, which have also been described in other developing countries, create a high lead poisoning risk for nearby residents.