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Title: Worker lead exposures during renovation of homes with lead-based paint

Journal Article · · Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
; ;  [1]
  1. National Inst. for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

The authors evaluated lead exposures among full-time home renovators and part-time volunteers working primarily in pre-1960 homes with lead-based paint. Potentially hazardous lead exposures were measured during two tasks: exterior dry scraping and wet scraping. Maximum exposures were 120 and 63 {micro}g/m{sup 3}, respectively. Exposures during other tasks, including general repair, weatherization, exterior scraping/painting, window replacement, demolition, and plumbing, were low, as were all 13 full-shift personal exposures. Blood lead levels for full-time workers ranged up to 17.5 {micro}g/dl, with a GM of 5.2 {micro}g/dl; the GM for volunteers was 3.2 {micro}g/dl. All of the paint samples collected from work surfaces had detectable amounts of lead, with 65% of the work surfaces tested having an average lead concentration of >0.5%.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
305449
Journal Information:
Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Vol. 13, Issue 11; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1998
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English