Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, Rayyan Muhammad Garba, Mukhtar Muhammad, Muktar Ahmed Gadanya, Nasir Umar-Tsafe, Said Mohammed Amin, Patrick Nguku, Aliyu Gambo Gumel, Simba Tirima, Steven Abah, Zubairu Iliyasu, Bsc Uzochukwu, Abdulsalami Nasidi
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
About 80% of the global lead production is consumed by the battery industry. As old batteries are increasingly being recycled without adequate recourse to safety and protection in many developing countries, there is well-documented evidence of lead poisoning among the workers. This study compared blood lead levels (BLL) of battery recycling workers (BRW) with controls in Northern Nigeria. This cross-sectional study assessed the BLL of BRW (self-employed informal workers, n = 98) and controls (healthcare workers, n = 98). Respondents were selected using systematic random sampling from the lists of BRW and healthcare workers. All respondents in the two groups were males, matched for age (27.81 ± 7.2, 27.67 ± 7.0 years; p = 0.890). The mean BLL was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among the BRW compared to the controls (40.17 ± 4.2 and 3.61 ± 0.4 µg/dL, respectively), with 78.1% of the BRW having elevated BLL (≥20.0 µg/dL) and none (0.0%) of the controls having elevated BLL. Logistic regression shows none of the variables was an independent predictor of BLL in this study, implying battery reclamation as the main source of lead. Federal and state government policies should ban informal battery recycling and emphasize on plants through national collection system to consolidate used batteries only to smelters that meet minimum regulatory requirements.
期刊介绍:
International Journal of Environmental Health Research ( IJEHR ) is devoted to the rapid publication of research in environmental health, acting as a link between the diverse research communities and practitioners in environmental health. Published articles encompass original research papers, technical notes and review articles. IJEHR publishes articles on all aspects of the interaction between the environment and human health. This interaction can broadly be divided into three areas: the natural environment and health – health implications and monitoring of air, water and soil pollutants and pollution and health improvements and air, water and soil quality standards; the built environment and health – occupational health and safety, exposure limits, monitoring and control of pollutants in the workplace, and standards of health; and communicable diseases – disease spread, control and prevention, food hygiene and control, and health aspects of rodents and insects. IJEHR is published in association with the International Federation of Environmental Health and includes news from the Federation of international meetings, courses and environmental health issues.