AIM The objective of this study was to investigate the exposure to lead (Pb) among artisan
workers manufacturing cookware from scrap metal and their community.
METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional survey in six cookware manufacturing
workshops and, for comparison, eight carpentry workshops (negative controls) and 14 lead
batteries repairing workshops (positive controls). All workshops are located in areas without
mining activities of Lubumbashi city. We collected surface dust samples of the workspaces,
and blood and urine samples of the workers and residents from the sites where the
workshops are installed. Element determination was performed using Inductively Coupled
Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS).
RESULTS In the artisanal cookware manufacturers (ACM) group, bood and urinary lead
concentration geometric mean {121.5 μg/L [interquartile range(IQR 79.1-206.5)] and [3.3
μg/g (1.5-7.1)]} were estimated to be about twice as high as the negative control group {[60.2
μg/L (37.2-94.0)] and [0.9 μg/g, (0.3-3.8)]} and half the value of the positive control goup
{[241.8 μg/L (82.8-591.7)] and [7.2 μg/g (1.1-26.3)]}. Among residents from the site of the
workshop, children had higher urinary Pb concentrations [6.2 μg/g (2.3-19.3)] than the
workers.
CONCLUSION This investigation demonstrates a substantial occupational Pb exposure
among ACM and warns on the hazards for residents, especially children, due to the
installation of these activities in residential sites.