Abstract
Childhood lead (Pb) poisoning remains a global issue, especially in industrial areas. In this study, 115 children with average age 5.7 years were recruited as either patient diagnosed with Pb poisoning or controls at Xinhua Hospital in China. The subjects’ bone Pb was measured with a K-shell X-ray fluorescence (KXRF) and a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) system. A significant correlation between KXRF bone Pb and blood Pb and portable XRF and KXRF measurements were observed. The half-life of blood-lead was calculated to be 9.96 ± 3.92 d. Our results indicate that bone is a useful biomarker for Pb in children.
Declaration of interest
This work was supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) R21 grant 1R21OH010044, National Natural Science Foundation of China (81373016, 30901205), National Basic Research Program of China (“973” Program, 2012CB525001), Shanghai Science and Technology Committee [124119a1400], Purdue Ross Fellowship and Purdue US-China visiting scholar network travel grant program. The authors report no declarations of interest.