More than 6,000 California workers in munitions, manufacturing and other industries have elevated levels of lead in their blood that could cause serious health problems, according to a recent聽 from the state鈥檚 public health agency.
The聽report, containing the results of tests conducted between聽2012 and 2014,聽comes as聽the state鈥檚 workplace health and safety agency, Cal/OSHA,聽聽of its safety聽standards聽for workplace lead exposure聽for the first time in decades.聽The current standards are based on 35-year-old medical findings, which at the time did not recognize the dangers of even low-level exposure to lead. More recent science shows chronic, low-level lead exposure can cause lasting harm.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 surprise me. This is a huge problem,鈥 said Doug Parker, executive director of聽Worksafe, a worker health and safety advocacy organization based in Oakland. 鈥淐learly,聽there haven鈥檛 been adequate actions taken鈥 by some employers, he said.
Lead is a naturally occurring element.聽The soft gray metal and聽its various聽compounds聽have been聽used in many products,聽including pipes, paint, batteries, ammunition, industrial equipment and聽gasoline. Workers can be exposed to lead in the form of dust,聽either inhaled or swallowed, or by handling lead-tainted items.
Most public health actions have focused on聽protecting children from lead聽exposure聽and quickly treating聽those who are exposed,聽since the metal can severely impair their development.
But adults also can face聽聽from lead exposure, including heart disease, reproductive problems, cognitive difficulties and kidney failure. Some workers exposed to lead dust in the workplace have unwittingly聽carried it home on their clothes, exposing their families聽to it.
The authors of the report examined data from the聽, which tracks workplace exposures.聽From 2012 to 2014, 38,440 workers聽had their blood tested for lead, and聽6,051 workers were identified with an elevated聽level of聽5聽or more聽micrograms of lead per deciliter聽(about 3.3 ounces) of blood.聽Most of these workers were men between the ages of 20 and 59 and had Hispanic surnames. Many lived in Southern California, particularly in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The California Department of Public Health, which released the report聽last month,聽did not聽make an expert available for comment.
About 14,000聽of the聽workers聽had聽two or more聽blood lead tests, which showed聽about a fifth of them聽had elevated blood lead levels,聽according to the report. More than one elevated blood test suggests chronic exposure linked to health problems, the researchers noted.
About 60 percent of workers with聽higher exposures 鈥斅燼bove 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood 鈥 worked in manufacturing, for companies that聽make and recycle batteries, aircraft and aircraft parts, ships, plumbing and pipefitting fixtures, and metal valves, according to the report.聽Workers with the highest blood lead levels 鈥斅40 micrograms or more per deciliter 鈥斅爉ostly worked at shooting ranges or in ammunition聽manufacturing, gun repair, and firearm instruction, although some worked in other metal industries, painting and聽construction.
A spokesman for the聽California Manufacturers and Technology Association Association said the industry group did not have a position on workplace lead exposure,聽and a representative for the Sacramento-based聽State Building and Construction Trades Council did not respond to a request for comment.
California to provide testing for workers if their work uses or 鈥渄isturbs鈥 lead (such as removing lead paint from a home) and to take steps to minimize lead dust and fumes.
State researchers warned that there are many other workers who may be exposed to it聽but are never tested.聽While battery manufacturers and ammunition manufacturers may routinely test their workers, many other companies, including foundries and painting contractors, do not, the researchers noted.
鈥淭he result of this large testing deficiency is that we do not know the true numbers of California workers with elevated鈥 blood lead levels, the researchers wrote.
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