Lead levels in blood and urine of some residents of Abeokuta, Nigeria

Lead levels in blood and urine of university students, petrol station attendants and pregnant women (all of whom are residents in Abeokuta in Nigeria, an urban town) were determined by a spectrophotometric method in order to assess human exposure to lead. A mean blood lead level of 16.27 +/- 2.65 mug/dl was found for male university students while the female students had a mean blood lead level of 15.19 +/- 2.36 mug/dl. The male petrol station attendants had a mean blood lead level of 42.40 +/- 2.41 mug/dl whereas their female counterparts had 34.95 +/- 4.25 mug/dl. The highest mean blood lead concentration (54.52 +/- 4.38 mug/dl) was observed in the pregnant women in their third trimester of pregnancy. The urinary excretion of lead followed the same pattern as that of blood. The study provides additional data pointing to the prevalence of elevated blood lead levels in urban areas.