Assessment of Lead Amount In The Blood of Children and In The Environment At, Taybat Elahamda, Khartoum North -Sudan

Abstract

Lead exposure and poisoning is one of the environmental problems affecting and threatening humans; specially children, with profound physical, psychological and social negative impacts. This study was conducted during January 2005 to January 2007 on 310 pupils ranging in age between 6 to 17 years. The pupils belonged to 4 primary schools in Taybat Alameda these were Tagwa School for Girls and Tagwa School for Boys (105 and 60 respectively). These schools lie in close proximity to Khartoum North Industrial area. The control group were pupils from Tayba School for Girls and Tayba School for Boys (111, 64 respectively). The study assessed the lead levels of the pupils. The possible associated factors including residence, drinking water, food ..etc, that affect the lead levels, and the impact of these factors on the child health, behaviours and academic performance were investigated. A detailed questionnaire was designed and offered to the pupils in the study area to collect basic data related to socioeconomic status. This data was used further in explanation of the blood lead level. Filling of the questionnaire was performed by their teachers and parents. Different samples of air, water, soil and food items from both areas were collected randomly and analyzed for lead concentration. The highest lead concentration tends to be in girls (16.163 ppm) than boys (10.003 ppm). There were 7 girls and one boy with lead level above the IV permissible level. All of them were from Tayba area. No pupil from Tagwa area scored blood lead above the permissible level. Pupils with fair academic performance showed higher lead concentration in blood (3.35 ppm) when compared with those of low academic performance. To the age group 10 – 14 years belonged pupils with the highest amount of lead (2.05 ppm). The pupils whose parents were workers had the highest amount of blood lead (2.26 2 ppm). Parents with primary education had their children with high amount of blood lead (2.06 ppm). It seems that lead levels in the pupils blood is inversely related to eating eggs and drinking milk (2.49 ppm) and (9.20 ppm) respectively, compared to eating vegetables, bread and meat. Those who complained from stomach and headache, the highest blood lead level they had (2.39 ppm) and (0.36 ppm) respectively. Pica behaviour is associated with lead exposure (2.72 ppm). No lead was detected in air or water samples. The different food samples contained different lead concentrations ranging between (0.083- 0.0918ppm)in Tagwa and Tayba area respectively, which is below the permissible level of the milk samples found to contain amount of lead with mean (0.236 ppm). The lead concentration in the soil samples was not above the level except one case in Tagwa area (249.4 ppm).