An Investigation of Lead Concentration in the Breathing Air and the Blood of Automobile Welders in Birjand, Iran

Introduction Lead is known as one of the most dangerous toxic metals in the world and its entry into the body can cause acute and chronic intoxication with a wide range of systemic symptoms. Our goal in the current research is to study the level of lead in the breathing zone and blood of the automobile welders in Birjand. Methods A cross-sectional, descriptive-analytic study was conducted on 47 automobile welders. The criteria for entering the study included, male gender, having at least 1 year of experience in automobile welding, and at least 8 hours of daily employment in welding. The general information required was collected through a questionnaire. At the beginning of the study, in each working environment air samples were taken in accordance with NIOSH 7082 standards. The analysis of the air lead concentration (ALC) was carried out by a flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The blood lead concentration (BLC) was measured by NIOSH 8003 method via graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results Based on the data, 12.8% of the workers were smokers and 66% used appropriate personal protective equipment. The average ALC was 0.0458 ± 0.0296 mg/m 3 and the average BLC of automobile welders was 9.89 ± 7.32 μg/dL. Although Pearson correlation coefficient showed a positive correlation between ALCs and BLCs, this correlation was not statistically significant (p = 0.38, r = 0.18). Conclusion The findings of this study showed that the average BLC in cigarette smokers and those who did not use PPE was higher than other people; besides, it was higher in individuals over the age of 30 than those under this age. The mean BLC in automobile welders and the mean ALC corresponded to the standards of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).