Blood Lead Levels In Victorian Children

Abstract

A recent study of lead levels in the blood of Sydney schoolchildren purported to show "an alarming situation of epidemic proportions", with up to 24% of children in one survey having blood lead levels greater than 25 microgram/100 mL (1.21 mumol/L). In the present study, 446 Victorian children were tested for lead level in venous blood, showing a mean blood lead level of 11.4 microgram/100 mL (0.55 mumol/L), and only six children (1.3%) with blood lead levels in excess of 25 microgram/100 mL (1.21 mumol/L) were found. It is suggested that the blood lead levels in the Sydney study may have been falsely high because of the use of capillary blood samples which are prone to contamination.