Lead concentration in blood samples of humans and animals near an industrial waste dump in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Blood lead was determined in 7 adults, 2 children, 1 bull, 11 cows, and 3 calves living on agricultural land near an industrial waste site. An unexposed human control group was composed of 2 adults and 2 children. Mean blood lead from the exposed group was 4.6 micrograms/dl for adults, 5.1 micrograms/dl for children, 1.3 micrograms/dl for the bull, 1.2 micrograms/dl for cows, and 1.8 micrograms/dl for calves. Unexposed adults had 4.1 micrograms/dl and children had 3.7 micrograms/dl lead blood. The blood lead content did not suggest a health hazard from lead for either humans or animals.