Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance --
United States, Third Quarter, 1992
In September 1992, CDC's National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) began quarterly reporting of adult
elevated
blood lead level (BLL) data from state-based surveillance programs.
To support these efforts, NIOSH has established the Adult Blood
Lead
Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program.
In the previous report, 12 states * provided summary data on
elevated BLLs (greater than or equal to 25 ug/dL of whole blood)
(1).
In this report, five additional states (Colorado, Michigan, New
Hampshire, South Carolina, and Utah) have contributed to the
surveillance effort, bringing to 17 the total number of states
participating in quarterly reporting (Table 1). Twenty-one states
collect BLL information on adults, and five states are developing
the
capacity to do so.
NIOSH surveillance research recently identified excessive lead
exposures in the construction industry among bridge workers (2,3),
workers conducting home paint removal (4), and workers performing
paint removal on commercial superstructures such as water tanks
(5).
In October 1992, the U.S. Department of Labor was directed by
Congress to issue an interim final regulation covering occupational
exposures to lead in the construction industry **; this interim
standard is to be published in April 1993. In addition to setting
standards for construction workers, the regulation directs the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, CDC, and other federal agencies to ensure that
workers engaged in lead paint removal are properly trained and that
contractors engaged in such activities are certified.
Reported by: B Harrell, MPA, Div of Epidemiology; CH Woernle, MD,
State Epidemiologist, Alabama Dept of Public Health. A Osorio, MD,
Occupational Health Surveillance and Evaluation Program, California
Dept of Health Svcs. J McCammon, MS, Epidemiology Div, Colorado
Dept
of Health. CJ Dupuy, Connecticut State Dept of Health Svcs. M
Lehnherr, Occupational Disease Registry; H Howe, PhD, Div of
Epidemiologic Studies, Illinois Dept of Public Health. K Choquette,
MS, R Currier, DVM, State Epidemiologist, Iowa Dept of Public
Health.
E Coe, MPH, Health Registries Div, Maryland Dept of the
Environment.
R Rabin, MSPH, Div of Occupational Hygiene, Massachusetts Dept of
Labor and Industries. P Dunbar, MPH, Bur of Child and Family Svcs,
Michigan Dept of Public Health. T Ferrara, MD, Occupational Health
Program, Bur of Risk Assessment, Div of Public Health Svcs, New
Hampshire State Dept of Health and Human Svcs. B Gerwel, MD,
Occupational Disease Prevention Program, New Jersey Dept of Health.
R Stone, PhD, New York State Dept of Health. M Barnett, MS, State
Health Div, Oregon Dept of Human Resources. R Marino, MD, Div of
Health Hazard Evaluations, South Carolina Dept of Health and
Environmental Control. T Willis, DM Perrotta, PhD, Environmental
Epidemiologist, Texas Dept of Health. D Beaudoin, MD, Bur of
Epidemiology, Utah Dept of Health. L Hanrahan, MS, Div of Health,
Wisconsin Dept of Health and Social Svcs. Div of Surveillance,
Hazard
Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, CDC.
References
CDC. Elevated blood lead levels in adults -- United States,
second
quarter, 1992. MMWR 1992;41:715-6.
Center to Protect Workers' Rights. Preventing lead poisoning in
construction workers. In: Impact on construction safety.
Washington,
DC: Center to Protect Workers' Rights, 1992;10:5-6.
NIOSH. Health hazard evaluation report no. HETA 91-006.
Cincinnati: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public
Health
Service, CDC, 1992; DHHS publication no. (NIOSH)91-006-2193.
NIOSH. Health hazard evaluation report no. HETA 90-070.
Cincinnati: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public
Health
Service, CDC, 1992; DHHS publication no. (NIOSH)90-070-2181.
NIOSH. Health hazard evaluation report no. HETA 91-209.
Cincinnati: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public
Health
Service, CDC, 1992; DHHS publication no. (NIOSH)91-209-2249.
Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin.
** Housing and Community Development Act, Title X, Residential
Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act (Public Law 102-550).
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