Lead in the Japanese living environment

Abstract

Lead has long been known to be a neurotoxic heavy metal, particularly in the context of occupational health. However, its adverse effect on the cognitive development of children at lower exposure levels has only recently received attention. Although the exposure level of contemporary Japanese children is among the lowest in the world, it is desirable to reduce exposure as much as reasonably possible due to the absence of a threshold of exposure for adverse effects. In this review, information on lead levels in milieus of our proximate environment, such as the atmosphere, drinking water, soil, house dust, diet and others, of contemporary Japan was compiled with the aim of updating our knowledge on lead distribution. Monitoring data demonstrates that lead concentrations in the atmosphere and lead intake from food consumption have decreased substantially from the 1970s. Lead was hardly detectable in tap water in a recent nation-wide monitoring survey. To the contrary, elevated lead concentrations were detected in surface soil and house dust in one of the studies on daily exposure to lead from all potential sources, and both of these sources were regarded by the authors as significant contributors of lead exposure to general Japanese children. A similar study indicated that diet is the sole major source of lead for Japanese children. A significant difference was present in the estimated dietary lead intake levels in different studies, resulting in significant discrepancies in the current knowledge on lead in our environment. Further studies are warranted to identify the major source(s) of lead exposure in Japanese children in order to establish an effective countermeasure to reduce lead exposure to children.

Human biological monitoring of suspected endocrine-disrupting compounds

“…The current exposure limit of 100 μg l −1 BLL is considered excessive for vulnerable groups, such as infants and children, due to their higher gastrointestinal absorption and less effective excretion 136. The average BLLs of <20 μg l −1 in Japanese children are one of the lowest reported in the world 137. Recent reports from China suggest decreasing trends of BLL and prevalence of lead poisoning in children; however, the levels are still high compared with developed Western countries 138.…”

Dust–Metal Sources in an Urbanized Arid Zone: Implications for Health-Risk Assessments

“…In addition, the average Pb concentration was lower than that in most cities as shown in Fig. 2 (Cai et al 2013;Dao et al 2013;Douay et al 2007;Elom et al 2013;Hu et al 2011;Yoshinaga 2012) but was higher than that in cities in Sweden (Elom et al 2013), Jordan (Al-khashman 2013), Turkey (Guney et al 2010), and Spain (De Miguel et al 2012). It has been documented that the As and Pb content Rudnick and Gao (2003).…”

Construction technique of disposable bin from sludge cake and its environmental risk

“…The results of leaching test showed very small values of these heavy metals in the leachate. The concentration of the lead in the leachate corresponded to that in the bottled drinking water in Japan [24]. Even if the rain would penetrate to the bins, these heavy metals will little meld out into the leachate.…”