TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- Women of childbearing age who work in battery manufacturing are at risk for having dangerously high blood-lead levels, which could have a negative impact on their future offspring, according to a report in the April 27 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed 2004 data on blood-lead levels in women aged 16 to 44 years in 37 states from the CDC's Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program.
Overall, 10.9 per 100,000 women had lead levels of 5 μg/dL or more, the level recommended for intervention in pregnant women, and 0.06 per 100,000 women had levels of 40 μg/dL or more, the level at which workers are removed from a job because of lead poisoning.
Most exposed women worked in manufacturing, and 89 percent of these worked in the industry that includes battery manufacturing. Lead levels of 40 μg/dL or more were found in 8.4 per 100,000 women in battery manufacturing compared with 0.4 per 100,000 in all manufacturing and 0.04 per 100,000 among all industries.
"Identifying and counseling females of childbearing age who might become pregnant and expose children to lead in utero might help to prevent neurobehavioral and cognitive deficits," the authors write.
More Information
