Blood lead levels in the Kinshasa population: a pilot study

Abstract

ObjectiveLeaded gasoline and lead paints are still in use in the Democratic Republic of Congo but data on blood lead levels in the general population are not available. We evaluated the Pb impregnation in children and adults (0 - 70 years old) in Kinshasa.MethodsBlood lead was measured by atomic absorption in a sample of 485 healthy people (268 men and 217 women) living in Kinshasa between May 2003 and June 2004.ResultsGeometric mean blood lead was 120 µg/L (95% CI: 115-125), with a higher concentration in men than in women (127 vs 114 µg/L, p = 0.01). Sixty-three percent of children aged less than 6 years old presented blood lead levels above the 100 µg threshold. In the adult population, occupations with a potential risk of exposure to gasoline (car mechanics or garage owners, taxi drivers, conveyors and gas pump attendants) were associated with an extra blood lead of about 65µg/L.ConclusionThis study indicates a relatively important Pb impregnation of the Kinshasa population. It demonstrates the existence of a major public health issue requiring corrective actions and the implementation of an appropriate regulation.

Blood lead levels in children after phase-out of leaded gasoline in Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

“…Demographic characteristics (age and sex) of children in this study were compared to those found in the same population in 2004 and 2008 [15,16]. No significant differences were observed between the subgroup studied (Table 1), indicating that our sampling strategy (unweighted clusters) did probably not introduce a strong bias in the representativeness of our population sample.…”

“…The prevalence of elevated BLLs in current study (41%) decreased dramatically as it was in 2004 (63%) and 2008 (71%), probably because of the DRC has recently completed in 2009 the phase out of lead in gasoline: a 30% decrease 2 years after the phase out of lead in gasoline began compared with studies the same population before the phase out [15,16]. Predictable reductions in BLLs have been described in several countries [12,13].…”

“…Since 2003–2008, Tuakuila et al [15,16] have provided valuable information on urban population’s BLLs and risk factors for elevated BLLs in Kinshasa. Other possible sources of lead exposure (GM, 95% CI) in Kinshasa include house paint chips (25 μg/g [15 – 36]), house Portland cement (15 μg/g [12 – 20]), indoor dust (720 μg/m 2 [555 – 934]), playing area outdoor soil (39 μg/g [22 – 67]), drinking water (0.24 μg/L [0.16 – 0.37]), fired clay use for the traditional treatment of gastritis by pregnant women (190 μg/g [142 – 255]), car batteries recycling activities in certain residences (lead in soil was 51 μg/g [15 – 181] vs 35 μg/g [18 – 64] in residences without these activities).…”

“…There is little evidence to indicate that factors such as lead water adduction pipes, socio economic status or industrial activities might have made a major contribution to the reductions in BLLs observed. First, while the BLLs of children were 12.4 μg/dL and 11.2 μg/dL in 2004 and 2008 respectively, lead stands at concentrations of 4 μg/L in drinking water [15] which is less than the 10 μg/L threshold set by the WHO. Second, according to PRB 2010 world population, 80% of population in DRC live under 2 dollars per day.…”

“…In the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), although there are multiple sources of lead exposure, leaded gasoline is a common high dose source of exposure for children living in Kinshasa: surveys conducted in 2004 and 2008 shown that the prevalence of elevated BLLs was 63% and 71% respectively [15,16] that indicates a public health issue which requires corrective actions. A process of phasing out leaded gasoline started in December 2005 (Declarations of Dakar in 2001 and Johannesburg in 2002) and completed in December 2009 in DRC.…”