Monitoring for industrial hygiene

In situations where lead exposure is considered significant, lead-in-air monitoring is carried out on a routine basis. This takes the form ofboth personal monitoring, in which samplers are attached to some individual workers with the inlet attached to the lapel, as well as monitoring at representative points within the works atmosphere. 

Medical surveillance of exposed workers differs according to whether exposure is to inorganic lead or lead alkyls. In the case of inorganic lead the appropriate measure of recent exposure is the blood lead level (see Chapter 7). This is normally determined every three months and any worker whose blood lead exceeds 80 jUg (100 ml) of whole blood is removed from lead exposure at work. Determinations of haemoglobin concentrations and clinical assessments are also used to evaluate the health of lead workers. For workers exposed to concentrated lead alkyls a measure of lead in urine is made at 6 weekly or more frequent intervals, and blood leads are measured annually. Any worker with a urinary lead value in excess of 0.8 iimol dm is suspended from lead work until considered medically fit to return. 

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