Lead pollution in urban and rural Saudi Arabian children

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01701984· OSTI ID:6614898

Ahmed, M; Ahmed, P; Kutbi, I I ^[1]

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1. King Abdulaziz Univ., Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)

In the last two decades, vehicular traffic increased spectacularly in Saudi Arabia, from 243,000 registered motor vehicles in 1973 to over 5 million at present. All these vehicles use leaded gasoline, one of the major sources of lead contamination in the ambient air and dusts in the cities. To evaluate the impact of this high level of environmental lead, scalp hair of 200 school boys, aged 6-8 years, from each of the two cities (Makkah in the western region and Riyadh in the central region) and two Village Groups (one around Makkah city and the other around Riyadh city) were analyzed in this study for lead concentrations. Makkah is one of the oldest and most densely populated cities with congested housing and narrow winding streets. Riyadh on the other hand is the newly developing, planned capital city of Saudi Arabia. The Village Groups were chosen so as to reflect a control environment away from heavy traffic and industrial activity. The usefulness of hair as an important biopsy material for environmental pollution studies has been demonstrated in a large number of studies. Effect of lead on the central nervous system of the children may result in mental retardation and even death in case of acute encephalopathy.

• OSTI ID: 6614898
• Journal Information: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA), Journal Name: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology; (USA) Vol. 43:5; ISSN 0007-4861; ISSN BECTA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
AGE GROUPS
ASIA
BODY
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
CHILDREN
CONTROL
HAIR
LEAD COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
QUALITY CONTROL
QUANTITATIVE CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
RURAL AREAS
SAUDI ARABIA
SKIN
SPECTROSCOPY
UPTAKE
URBAN AREAS