ABSTRACT
Long-term backyard smelting of lead in a district known as Mona Commons, Kingston, Jamaica, has produced lead burdens as high as 30 000 mg/kg in soils near to the smelter, and indoor dust loadings of 373 microg/f2 in the residents' home. The blood lead levels (BPb) of 107 children from the district were in the range 2.2-202 microg/dL. Fifty-nine per cent of these had BPb levels above 10 microg/dL and the population mean was an unacceptably high 25.1 microg/dL. The highest levels were observed for five siblings, two of whom presented with lead encephalopathy. This severe chronic exposure to lead was exacerbated by a significant history of pica, and chronic nutritional anaemia. Chelation therapy significantly reduced the BPb levels but due to lead storage in other organs, the values after several months were still higher than desirable. This study emphasizes the importance of reducing the exposure of children to lead.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Lead/toxicity , Brain Diseases/etiology , Lead Poisoning/complications , Child , Demography , Acute Disease , Brain Diseases/diagnosis , Lead Poisoning/drug therapy , Lead Poisoning/epidemiology , Jamaica/epidemiology , Health Surveys , Risk Assessment , Pica , Child, Preschool , Chelation TherapyABSTRACT
The cadmium concentrations in the kidneys and livers of 39 autopsy cases in Jamaica, in the age group > or = 40 years, are renal cortex: range 6.7-126 mg kg-1, mean 43.8 mg kg-1; liver: range 0.3-24.3 mg kg-1, mean 5.3 mg kg-1. The mean levels in the renal cortex are higher for women than for men but not so significantly, nor are the differences between smokers and non-smokers clear. The observed values are considered high, second only to Japan where cadmium related health impairments have occurred, and nearly twice as high as the values reported from Austria, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden. The Jamaican cases were from areas with relatively low soil-cadmium concentrations, and the corresponding values are likely to be significantly higher in central Jamaica where the soil contains unusually high levels of cadmium. An examination of possible contributions of cadmium intake to renal problems in Jamaica now appears to be necessary
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Cadmium/analysis , Liver/chemistry , Kidney/chemistry , Autopsy , Statistics, Nonparametric , Risk Factors , JamaicaABSTRACT
Blood lead levels (BLL) for 285 children, three to six years old, from seven basic schools located in known areas of anthropogenic pollution, and in urban and rural areas are reported. The samples were obtained by the finger-prick method and analyzed for lead by anodic stripping voltammetry. The majority of the children had blood lead levels below the now accepted limit of 10 micrograms dL-1 and there was no indication of cases that would represent medical emergencies. The present results show considerable improvement in the BLLs of children living in contaminated sites indicating the effectiveness of the previous remediation steps. Follow-up intervention work is in progress for cases of blood lead levels in excess of the recommended limit
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child, Preschool , Child , Lead/blood , Schools , Environmental Exposure , Lead Poisoning/epidemiology , Jamaica/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The concentrations of 28 elements, in hand-made cigars, [quot ]rope[quot ] tobacco and freshly picked tobacco leaves from the parish of Manchester in central Jamaica, were compared with locally packaged and imported cigarettes and cigars. Except for chromium and vanadium, which are lower in the imported products, the elemental concentrations of all the brands sold in Jamaica are rather similar. The means for aluminium, cadmium, caesium, cerium, chromium, iron, thorium, uranium, vanadium and zinc for the Manchester material exceed the maximum values of the other tobaccos. The significant concentrations of heavy metals, and especially cadmium, which is about 50 times that of commercial cigarettes, reflect the known high concentrations in the soils in the region. This tobacco is not filtered and the smoke contains 50 of the cadmium. This, and the concentrations of radioactive elements, may indicate an additional health risk compared with commercial cigarettes. A study of three samples of marijuana indicates a similar level of risk from heavy metals
Subject(s)
Cannabis/chemistry , Trace Elements/analysis , Tobacco/chemistry , JamaicaABSTRACT
The results of five years of radiation monitoring of 590 radiation workers in Jamaica and an additional 88 in Barbados and The Turks and Caicos Islands show that the annual dose absorbed by Caribbean radiation workers is, with a single exception, well within the internationally accepted limits of 20 mSv per year. There were few cases of relatively high exposures. The dose equivalent of the radiation workers by category agrees with international trends; workers in nuclear medicine receive the highest doses and dental radiologists the lowest. The collective Effective Dose Equivalent has been calculated for each of the monitored populations and certain trends identified. The risk for development of fatal cancers from the occupational doses reported was very low. Consistent monitoring will identify aberrant conditions quickly and help maintain that record