Objectives-To test the association between inorganic lead (Pb) exposure, blood pressure, and renal function in South African battery factory workers, with both conventional and newer measures of renal function and integrity. Methods-Renal function measures included serum creatinine, urea, and urate (n = 382). Urinary markers (n = 199) included urinary N-acetyl--Dglucosaminidase (NAG), retinol binding protein, intestinal alkaline phosphatase, tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase, Tamm-Horsfall glycoprotein, epidermal growth factor, and microalbuminuria. Results-Mean current blood Pb was 53.5 µg/dl (range 23 to 110), median zinc protoporphyrin 10.9 µg/g haemoglobin (range 1.9 to 104), and mean exposure duration 11.6 years (range 0.5 to 44.5). Mean historical blood Pb, available on 246 workers, was 57.3 µg/dl (range 14 to 96.3). After adjustment for age, weight and height, positive exposure response relations were found between current blood Pb, historical blood Pb, zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), and serum creatinine and urate. Blood pressure was not associated with Pb exposure. Among the urinary markers, only NAG showed a positive association with current and historical blood Pb. Conclusion-An exposure-response relation between Pb and renal dysfunction across the range from <40 to >70 µg/dl blood Pb was found in this workforce, with conventional measures of short and long term Pb exposure and of renal function. This could not be explained by an eVect on blood pressure, which was not associated with Pb exposure. The findings probably reflect a higher cumulative renal burden of Pb absorption in this workforce in comparison with those in recent negative studies. The results also confirm the need for strategies to reduce Pb exposure among industrial workers in South Africa. (Occup Environ Med 1998;55:453-460)

Previous studies of the associations of measures of occupational lead exposure with measures of semen quality and infertility among male workers have produced conflicting results. The current study was undertaken to examine these associations among a population of workers with a broad range of measures of current and historical lead exposure. Ninety‐seven lead‐exposed workers from a South African lead acid battery facility provided semen samples that were analyzed for sperm density, sperm count, sperm motility, sperm morphology, and presence of antisperm antibodies. Questionnaire data were collected for reported histories of sub‐ or infertility. Current blood leads ranged from 28 to 93 μg/dl. Semen lead ranged from 1 to 87 μg/dl. Reasonably consistent and significant associations were found between an increased percentage of sperm with abnormal morphology and higher measures of current blood lead, cumulative blood lead, and duration of exposure. An increased percent of immotile sperm was associated only with zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) among the lead exposure measures. There were no associations of sperm density or sperm count with any of the lead exposure measures. A weak association of increased percent of sperm with antisperm antibodies with increased semen lead was present. There were no consistent associations of measures of lead exposure with measures of fertility or procreativity. This study, while supporting the association of lead exposure with increased risk of abnormal sperm morphology seen in some previous studies, does not lend support to previously reported associations of sperm density or count or infertility with measures of lead exposure. However, the relatively high range of current blood leads, high prevalence of abnormalities in semen quality, and the lack of a control population, suggest that these negative findings should be interpreted with caution. Am. J. Ind. Med. 32:369–376, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

(Occup Environ Med 1996;53:417-421)

The morphological similarity between species of the rock scorpion genus Hadogenes has given rise to a great deal of controversy amongst taxonomists over the last eighty years. To resolve these difficulties, species of the genus were re-appraised in terms of their chromosome number and an electrophoretic analysis of venom proteins. The relationships arising from these data were integrated with morphological characteristics in order to get a more realistic appreciation of the genus. It emerges that the genus consists of 14 recognised species, some of which represent as yet unnamed species complexes. Taxonomic changes proposed are H. lawrencei sp. res., H. zuluanus stat. nov, H. gracilis fluvianus and H. gracilis namaquensis = H. phyllodes syn. n. A new key to the species is provided.