Results from Russia: the commencement of blood lead testing in kids. (Science Selections).

A binational collaboration to evaluate pediatric lead poisoning in Russia [EHP 110: 559-562] has shown that although mean blood lead levels (BLLs) of the children studied were below U.S. guidelines, continued monitoring should still be done as Russia moves toward becoming more industrialized and thus, the potential for greater exposures increases.

Carol Rubin, chief of the Health Studies Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Environmental Health, led the study of children in the Russian cities of Ekaterinburg, Volgograd, and Krasnouralsk. She and her colleagues chose the two former cities, each with a population of about 100,000, for their high industrial lead emissions and exhaust from vehicles using leaded gasoline. Smaller Krasnouralsk was chosen because it has a copper smelter that spews lead by-products into the atmosphere.

Blood samples were obtained using a new, portable, blood lead analysis instrument which requires only a fingerstick instead of vein puncture, making it more child-friendly. To assess the accuracy of the new device, the researchers retested the children's blood samples at the CDC lab and obtained comparable measurements. Blood samples were analyzed for 1,101 children 2-6 years old who were enrolled in preschools and kindergartens. Researchers also took environmental lead samples to find potential sources of exposure.

The study revealed a geometric mean BLL of 7.2 mg/dL. That's higher than the U.S. children's mean of 3.6 mg/dL, measured in the most recent survey, from 1988 to 1991, but lower than the 1976-1980 U.S. mean of 15.0. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers levels higher than 10 mg/dL excessive. Exposure among the three cities was highest in Krasnouralsk, where 60% of the children had excess levels. Researchers attributed their high levels to the smelter. Nineteen percent of the children in Volgograd and 11% in Ekaterinburg had levels above 10 mg/dL.

Environmental samples taken inside and outside the kindergartens and several children's homes suggest that Russian children are exposed to lead primarily from dust and soil. Researchers suspect the lead comes from industrial emissions and leaded gasoline. Although Russia is moving toward unleaded auto fuel, some cars still used leaded fuel at the time of the survey. Russians used very little heavily leaded paint due to its high cost, so their children are protected from what is a primary source of childhood exposure in the United States--lead in paint chips and dust.

According to the research report, Russian officials say that current industrial activity in Russia is far below capacity. When such activity increases, Russian children are likely to be exposed to greater environmental lead contamination, thereby meriting further monitoring of BLLs.