Summary The lead burdens for children and mothers exposed to lead-contaminated soils and dusts have been investigated in a rural district with minimal atmospheric pollution. A significant relationship was observed between the lead content of blood and hair of children exposed to soils of mean lead content in the range 420-13,969 p.p.m. The blood lead concentration of children was consistently greater than that of their mothers. No consistent relationship was found between blood lead values and pica for soil. In this situation, lead in soil provided a small additional burden for children but in itself was insufficient to constitute a hazard.

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The purpose of this study is to assess the nature and magnitude of the deleterious health effects of subclinical over-exposure to lead in children. The study stems from concerns about the impact on the health of children in city slums who ingest leaded paint without overt evidence of poisoning and the health implication of rising levels of lead in the environment from automotive emissions. The study sample was derived mainly from a registry of children on whom blood lead determinations had been made by the New York City Department of Health and was supplemented by siblings of the registry cases and children from a lead belt area who had extractions of deciduous teeth in dental clinics. Information was obtained through parental interview, medical records, and psychometric evaluation. The data show that deleterious health effects occur in children who were treated for severe lead poisoning and in children without diagnosed lead poisoning who had elevated blood leads (>0.06 mg-%). In the absence of diagnosed lead poisoning or elevated blood leads, excess lead exposure, measured in terms of high levels of lead in teeth, was not associated with deleterious health effects.

SUMMARY Concentrations of the potential pollutants, lead and cadmium, were studied in the perinatal period in a British urban population. Blood lead and cadmium concentrations and iron status were measured in 28 mother and infant pairs at delivery and at five days postpartum in the mother; breast milk collected at five days postpartum under controlled conditions was analysed for lead and cadmium. Placental transfer of both metals was noted; concentrations of lead in breast milk (mean concentration 0.01 mmol/l (2 ,g/l)) were less than in two brands of commercial prepacked formulas, and the concentration of cadmium in breast milk and prepacked formulas (mean 3*6 nmol/l (0.4 ,ug/l)) were similar.