ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY, cilt.41, sa.2, ss.241-246, 2001 (SCI-Expanded)
Inorganic lead exposure was studied in 31 volunteers employed in storage battery plant. The genotoxicity of lead was measured in terms of sister chromatid exchange (SCE). Erythrocyte delta -aminolevulinic acid dehydrogenase (ALAD) activity, urinary delta -aminolevulinic acid (U-ALA), and blood lead levels (PbBs) were also determined to evaluate some possible relations between these lead exposure indicators and the observed SCE frequencies. Blood lead concentration of 36.31 mug/dl was determined as an average level in the workers. Consequently decreased ALAD activity in erythrocytes and increased U-ALA excretion was observed in statistically higher PbBs when compared with the control group. A statistically significant correlation was observed between the PbBs and SCE frequencies (p < 0.05). Moreover, the correlation between U-ALA excretion and SCE frequencies (p < 0.01) was relatively higher than the correlation between PbBs and SCE frequencies. These results might indicate a possible mechanism of ALA mediation in the genotoxic effects of lead.