Partition of circulating lead between plasma and red cells does not seem to be different for internal and external sources of lead

✍ Scribed by Ingvar A. Bergdahl; Staffan Skerfving

• Book ID: 101239225
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 32 KB
• Volume: 32
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199709)32:3<317::aid-ajim22>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

The authors are well aware of the alternative explanation: when B-Pb concentration increases, the ability of red cells to bind lead begins to saturate, resulting in a proportionately higher S-Pb. Also, the authors conclude that their hypothesis needs to be tested in further studies and that, in particular, studies of retired workers should provide an important test, because in such, endogenous exposure from bone can be the dominant contributor to B-Pb, as opposed to their study, in which the endogenous lead will have contributed only a minor fraction of B-Pb.

We happen to have data on B-Pb, as well as plasma (P-Pb) and finger bone lead (bone-Pb) in 71 active and 19 retired lead smelter workers [Bo ¨rjesson et al., 1997]. P-Pb was determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), according to the method of Schu ¨tz et al. [1996]. Data for one active worker were excluded, due to the strong influence his extreme lead levels (B-Pb: 930 µg/L; P-Pb: 37 µg/L; bone-Pb: 27 µg/g) would have had on the regression analysis.