Health-hazard-evaluation report HETA 87-371-2000, Technical Assistance to the Jamaican Ministry of Health, Kingston, Jamaica
In response to a request from the Jamaican Ministry of Health, a study was made of possible health hazards existing due to the operation of a secondary lead smelter in Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica. Emission controls at the site were upgraded in 1974. A cottage industry of clandestine backyard smelters was also in operation in the area. The survey investigated the health of residents in 58 households in the Red Pond Road community and 21 households in Ebony Vale. Soil lead levels in Red Pond exceeded 500 parts per million at 24% of the households tested. Ten paint samples taken from Red Pond homes exceeded 1% lead by weight. The geometric mean blood lead level of those tested in Red Pond was more than twice the level found in those tested in Ebony Vale. Forty four percent of the children under 6 years of age in Red Pond had blood lead levels above 25 micrograms/deciliter. Soil lead contamination was the strongest predictor of blood lead levels among the Red Pond subjects under 12 years of age. Lead smelter work was an important predictor in the older subjects. The authors conclude that the backyard smelters in combination with the secondary smelter caused a high lead poisoning risk for area residents. The authors recommend that residents stop the backyard smelting operations, and that efforts be made to reduce exposure through hazard abatement, education, and establishment of clean play areas for children.
- Research Organization:
- National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6274594
- Report Number(s):
- PB-91-108787/XAB; HETA--87-371-2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AGE GROUPS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BODY FLUIDS
CHILDREN
COATINGS
CONTAMINATION
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
GREATER ANTILLES
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
ISLANDS
JAMAICA
LEAD
MATERIALS
METABOLISM
METALS
MONITORING
PAINTS
SMELTERS
SOILS
WEST INDIES