2004/04/01 by Paulina Pino, Tomás Walter, M Oyarzún +2 · 1 citation
Environmental Science · #Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity #Heavy metals in environment #Air Quality and Health Impacts
paper · doi:10.3200/aeoh.59.4.182-187
openalex publication_date 2004/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This study was conducted to relate blood lead levels in infants to changes in lead emissions in Santiago, Chile, a heavily polluted setting where leaded gasoline began to be replaced with unleaded gasoline in 1993. Over an 18-mo period, 422 infants had blood lead levels, cotinine, and iron status determined at 12 mo. Blood lead levels fell at an average rate of 0.5 microg/dl every 2 mo, from 8.3 to 5.9 microg/dl, as the city experienced a net fall of 30% in the quantity of leaded gasoline sold. Time progression, car ownership, serum cotinine, and type of housing were significantly associated with a blood lead level > or = 10 microg/dl. In this study, the authors demonstrated that infant blood lead levels, even if relatively low, can drop very rapidly in conjunction with decreases in environmental lead exposure.