Blood lead levels of 9 707 occupationally lead-exposed workers in Jiangsu Province in 2018

Objective To analyze the blood lead levels of workers occupationally exposed to lead in Jiangsu Province in 2018, and to provide reasonable suggestions for scientific protection of lead-exposed workers' health.

Methods The results of blood lead examination of 9 707 occupationally lead-exposed workers in 13 prefecture-level cities of Jiangsu Province in 2018 were collected. The distribution of abnormal blood lead values was analyzed according to the location (region), economic type and scale of enterprises, the workers' age, gender and exposure time.

Results There were 1 133 workers whose blood lead were higher than national standard (blood lead >400 μg/L), accounting for 11.67%;120 workers were diagnosed as suspected cases with occupational chronic lead poisoning (blood lead ≥ 600 μg/L), accounting for 1.24%. There were significant differences among different regions of enterprises(P < 0.05). The level of blood lead, the exceeding rate of blood lead and the detection rate of suspected cases with occupational chronic lead poisoning were positively correlated with the workers' age(r=0.42, 0.38, 0.34, respectively). There was no positive correlation between the detection rate of chronic lead poisoning and the exposure time. The exceeding rates of blood lead and suspected cases with occupational chronic lead poisoning were different among different economic types and enterprise scales (P < 0.01). The exceeding rates of blood lead (14.70%, 24.44%) and suspected cases with occupational chronic lead poisoning (1.56%, 5.56%) were noted in private economy and micro enterprises. The blood lead level of male workers was (185.2±155.8) μg/L, which was higher than that of female workers (123.2±128.6) μg/L (P < 0.01). The exceeding rate of male blood lead and suspected cases with occupational chronic lead poisoning were significantly higher than that of female (P < 0.01).

Conclusions The exceeding rate of blood lead of occupationally lead-exposure workers in Jiangsu Province was high, and the micro, private economic enterprises, and elderly male workers should be paid more attention.