Elsevier

Environmental Research

Kid pb exposure virtually abandoned pb acid battery recycling sites in a residential community in People's republic of bangladesh: Risk factors and the touch on of soil remediation on claret lead levels

Under a Creative Eatables license

Open access

Highlights

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Soil lead concentrations declined by 96% after soil remediation in People's republic of bangladesh.

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Child blood lead levels declined by 35% later on soil remediation.

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At baseline, distance to the contaminated site correlated with blood lead level.

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Residents relied on the contaminated site for their livelihoods and for recreation.

Abstract

Lead is a potent neurotoxin that is particularly detrimental to children'south cognitive development. Batteries account for at least eighty% of global lead employ and unsafe bombardment recycling is a major contributor to childhood lead poisoning. Our objectives were to assess the intensity and nature of child atomic number 82 exposure at abandoned, informal used lead acid battery (ULAB) recycling sites in Kathgora, Savar, Bangladesh, also as to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of a soil remediation effort to reduce exposure. ULAB recycling operations were abandoned in 2016 due to complaints from residents, but the lead contamination remained in the soil after operations ceased. We measured soil and blood atomic number 82 levels (BLLs) among 69 children living within 200 grand of the ULAB recycling site in one case before, and twice after (7 and 14 months after), a multi-role remediation intervention involving soil capping, household cleaning, and awareness-raising activities. Due to compunction, the sample size of children decreased from 69 to 47 children at the 7-month postal service-intervention assessment and further to 25 children at fourteen months. Nosotros conducted not-parametric tests to appraise changes in soil lead levels and BLLs. We conducted baseline surveys, equally well as semi-structured interviews and observations with residents throughout the study menses to characterize exposure behaviors and the community perceptions. We conducted bivariate and multivariate regression analyses of exposure characteristics to determine the strongest predictors of baseline child BLLs. Prior to remediation, median soil lead concentrations were 1400 mg/kg, with a maximum of 119,000 mg/kg and dropped to a median of 55 mg/kg subsequently remediation (p < 0.0001). Among the 47 children with both baseline and mail-intervention time one measurements, BLLs dropped from a median of 21.3 μg/dL to 17.0 μg/dL at 7 months (p < 0.0001). Amid the 25 children with all iii measurements, BLLs dropped from a median of 22.6 μg/dL to 14.8 μg/dL after 14 months (p < 0.0001). At baseline, distance from a child's residence to the nearest abandoned ULAB site was the strongest predictor of BLLs and baseline BLLs were 31% higher for children living within 50 m from the sites compared to those living farther away (north = 69, p = 0.028). Women and children spent fourth dimension in the contaminated site daily and relied on it for their livelihoods and for recreation. Overall, this study highlights the intensity of lead exposure associated with the ULAB recycling industry. Additionally, we document the feasibility and effectiveness of a multi-office remediation intervention at a contaminated site embedded within a residential community; essentially reducing kid BLLs and soil lead concentrations.

Keywords

Child lead exposure

Blood atomic number 82 level

Bombardment

Recycling

Remediation

Bangladesh

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