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Australian Journal of Chemistry Australian Journal of Chemistry Society
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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Comparison of Isotope Dilution and a Portable Anodic Stripping Voltammetry Device for Blood Lead Measurements: Source of Lead in Blood of Female Adults from Bangalore

Brian L. Gulson A B D , Thuppil Venkatesh C , Jacqueline Palmer B , Herman Suil D’Souza C and Michael Korsch B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Graduate School of the Environment, Macquarie University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2109, Australia.

B CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining, PO Box 136, North Ryde NSW 1670, Australia.

C Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, St. John’s Medical College, Bangalore, India.

D Author to whom correspondence should be addressed (e-mail: bgulson@gse.mq.edu.au).

Australian Journal of Chemistry 57(10) 979-982 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH04012
Submitted: 15 January 2004  Accepted: 9 April 2004   Published: 1 October 2004

Abstract

We have analyzed blood samples from 20 pregnant Indian women from the city of Bangalore to assess the suitability of Indian subjects in a pregnancy study and assess the feasibility of using the lead isotopic method for determining sources and pathways of lead in Indian subjects. Blood lead concentrations range from 4.3 to 20.1 μg dL−1 with a geometric mean of 9.0 μg dL−1. There is excellent agreement between the isotope dilution measurements for blood lead concentration and those obtained by anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV; R2 0.96, P < 0.0001). A paired t-test shows that there is a statistically significant difference (p 0.008) with the results for ASV being approximately 6% higher than for those obtained by isotope dilution. The 206Pb/204Pb ratios range from 17.12 to 17.75 and showed major differences to the lead isotopic ratios that have been measured in Indian lead–zinc mineral deposits. It is suggested that lead in petrol is a major source of lead in the blood of Bangalore women.


Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Abraham George of the George Foundation for logistical support in obtaining the blood samples; B.L.G. also thanks him for his support in attending the Lead Poisoning and Prevention meeting in Bangalore, India. Admiral Dawson is thanked for providing a summary location map and production of figures for the Indian mines.


References


[1]   Lead Poisoning Prevention & Treatment: Implementing a National Program in Developing Countries (Ed. A. M. George) 1999, pp. 79–85 (The George Foundation: Bangalore).

[2]   S. K. Tandon, in Lead Poisoning Prevention & Treatment: Implementing a National Program in Developing Countries (Ed. A. M. George) 1999, pp. 221–224 (The George Foundation: Bangalore).

[3]   M. van Alphen, in Lead Poisoning Prevention & Treatment: Implementing a National Program in Developing Countries (Ed. A. M. George) 1999, pp. 265–272 (The George Foundation: Bangalore).

[4]   B. L. Gulson, K. J. Mizon, M. J. Korsch, J. M. Palmer, J. B. Donnelly, Sci. Total Environ. 2003, 303,  79.
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