Epidemic out brake of lead poisonning at Samae-Dum.

There have been sporadic outbrakes of lead poisoning in Thailand since 1952. An incidence of lead poisoning was found in 1986 among the population working in plastic recycling. An epidemiological survey was performed by a group of researchers, who analysed lead in different parts of the environment including-drinking water, soil and used plastic granules which all showed increases above normal levels. A total of 29 residents living in the area were studied for necessary lead intoxication parameter.

Study on health hazard due to methyl bromide among librarians.

Fumigation of Book and document for pest control was firstly applied in Thailand ten years ago. Methyl bromide, one of the fumigants, has been used for such purpose, but this process provided a potential health hazard from inhalation exposure of readily vapourized poisonous gas. There were 60 librarians included in the study. In spite of no methyl bromide being detected in the air in the working environment, all of librarians possessed the toxic material in the blood at a level of 1.02-8.13 mg./100 ml. It was probably due to inhalation of toxic gas that formerly penetrated the books and instantly vapourized when the books were opened or rearranged. 91.7% of the workers reported abnormal feelings. The rate of spontaneous recovery was 70.9% in mild category. The remainder needed self-medication or physician consultation. Special investigations were made to evaluate health status. The results showed 13.3% with dangerous methyl bromide blood levels, 28 with mild degree impairment of pulmonary functions, 6.7% with abnormal EEG, slightly elevated enzymes SGPT (ALT) in 13.3%, alkaline phosphatase in 1.7% and slightly decreased leucocyte counts in 10.0%. Recommendations were introduced to carry out annual medical examinations and relevant investigations to all concerned. For those who previously had abnormalities needed periodic check-ups at 6 month intervals. Whenever abnormal feelings occur, methyl bromide in the blood must be considered.

Lead concentrations in breast milk at various stages of lactation.

A total of 164 breast-milk samples from Thai mothers in different stages of lactation, from one day to over nine months postpartum, and 35 samples of infant milk formulas commercially available were analyzed for their lead concentrations using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The mean lead concentration in breast milk was 0.0846 +/- 0.0332 microgram per ml which is in the low range and is safe for infants, whereas the mean lead concentration in commercial infant mild formulas was 0.1587 +/- 0.0232 microgram per ml which can become a potential health hazard to infants.