• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.531-539
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• 1997

Lead sorption performances by biomass of nonliving, dried marine brown algae Undaria phnaunda, Hlzikia hsyormls. and Sugassum fulvellum used as biosorbent materials were investigated. As the amount of biosorbent materials added was increased, the lead removal by biosorbent materials Increased but the lead biosorption capacities decreased. However, with increasing Initial lead concentration the lead biosorption capacities by the biosorbent materials Increased but lead removal efficiencies decreased. In the range of Initial lead concentration(Co) 10-500 mg/L the lead biosorption capacities and removal efficiencies by the biosorbent materials Increased with increasing pH. Among the biosorbent materials used in this study, the lead biosorption capacities decreased in the following sequence: U. plilnaunda > H. fusiformis > S. fulvellum. The lead biosorption by biosorbent materials were expressed by the Langmuir Isotherm better than the Freundlich Isotherm. The biosorption rate could be expressed by the first order reaction rate equation for initial lead concentration like that rad : 0.288Co for U. phanda, rad = 0.255Co for H. fusiformis, and rad : 0.161Co for S. fulvellum. Key words : Lead, biosorption, biosorbent, Undaria pinnatinda, Hiztkia fusiformis, Sargassum fulvellum, Langmuir isotherm, Freundlich isotherm, biosorption rate.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.96-102
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• 2001

A cross-sectional study was performed to estimate the nutritional status of Korean male lead workers and to assess the relationship between calcium nutritional status and blood lead levels. A flood consumption survey was conducted by the 24-hr recall method with 118 lead workers and 63 non-lead exposed controls. Blood lead levels were analyzed from whole blood and serum calcium concentrations were also assessed. Results of dietary analysis showed Korean lead workers consumed relatively sufficient nutrients (more than 75% of RDA) except, calcium. Mean dietary calcium intake of lead workers was 502.2mg(72% of RDA) while that of the non-lead workers was estimated as 600.8mg(86% of RDA). Intakes of protein, iron, niacin and vitamin C of lead workers were significantly lower than those of non-lead workers. There was a wide range of blood lead levels(5.5 to 73.5$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗) observed while mean blood lead level of lead workers was 30.9$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗. However, 98% of lead workers showed normal serum ca1cium concentrations (range ; 8.9 to 10.7mg/㎗, mean ; 9.77mg/㎗) while 66% of lead workers were estimated to intake a dietary calcium lower than 75% of RDA. Mean blood lead levels of non-1ead workers were significantly lower(mean ; 5.1$\mu\textrm{g}$/㎗, p ＜ 0.001) and the serum calcium concentration was significantly higher(mean ; 10.20mg/㎗, p ＜ 0.001) than lead workers. Results of unadjusted correlation showed that serum calcium level and dietary calcium intake were negatively correlated with blood lead concentration. In a multiple regression of blood lead levels with variables known as affecting blood lead 1eve1 such as age, body mass index and occupational lead exposure, serum calcium was insignificant while dietary calcium intake showed statistically significant(p ＜ 0.05) relation. Since calcium is a very important nutrient to reduce hazardous effects of lead, it should be strongly recommended that lead workers need to increase dietary calcium intake.

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.19-28
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• 2010

This study was designed to investigate the effect of increased blood and tibia lead on the change of bone mineral density in retired male lead workers. One hundred nine retired male lead workers who worked in 4 different lead industries and 51 nonoccupationally lead exposed male subjects were recruited from March 2004 to October 2004. Bone mineral density(BMD) was measured by broadband ultrasound attenuation(BUA) at left calcaneous bone area with broadband ultrasound attenuation method of QUS-2(Metra Biosystems Inc, USA). Tibia bone lead was measured for skeletal bone lead with K-xray fluorescence(K-XRF) and blood lead was analyzed with flameless atomic spectrophotometer. Hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum calcium and iron were also analyzed. In addition, information for smoking and drinking status and basic personal data such as age and lead exposure were also collected using questionnaire inquiry. Blood lead was correlated with tibia lead (r=0.711) and these two variables were negatively correlated with BUA in bivariate analysis. BUA and tibia lead showed significant main effects on the change of blood lead after adjusting covariates. The effect modification by the level of BMD (low: lower than the median of BUA and high: higher than the median of BUA) was observed between the association of tibia lead and blood lead after adjustment of covariates. The subjects who had higher BMD seemed to have lower blood lead by the increase of tibia lead than those of lower BMD. In the multiple regression analysis of blood lead and tibia lead on BUA after adjustment of covariates, only blood lead showed statistically significant effect on BUA. This study confirmed that BMD and blood lead were significantly associated. To verify the causal association of BMD on blood lead and vice versa, further longitudinal studies are needed.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.36
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• pp.241-266
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• 2003

Glass pieces excavated from Mireuksa Temple dated $7^{th}$ century A.D. were characterized by chemical composition, specific gravity and melting point. Lead isotope ratios of lead glasses were also compared with those of lead ore to attribute which lead ore was delivered for making lead glass. It was known that some lead glasses found in Japan were similar with those of Mireuksa Temple as comparing the data of chemical composition and lead isotope ratios. Characteristics of lead glass from Mireuksa Temple Thirty five glass pieces of Mireuksa Temple were analyzed for five oxides and found that all was lead glass system(PbO-$SiO_2$) with the range of 70~79% for PbO and 20~28% for $SiO_2$. The concentrations of oxides such as $Al_2O_3$, $Fe_2O_3$ and CuO were below 0.4%, 0.3% and 0.9%, respectively. Principal component analysis(PCA) as a statistical method was carried out to classify glasses with the similarities of chemical concentrations. The result of PCA has shown that three groups of glasses were created according to the excavation positions and two major oxides(PbO and $SiO_2$) greatly contributed to the dispersion of glasses on principal component 1(PC1) axis and trace element oxides($Al_2O_3$ and $Fe_2O_3$) for PC2 axis. Most of lead glasses were greenish by the efficacy of iron and copper oxides and some showed yellowish-green. The gravity of lead glasses was about 4.4~5.4 and estimated melting point was near $670^{\circ}C$. Lead isotope ratios of glasses were analyzed and found quite close to a lead ore from the Bupyeong mine in Gyeonggi-do. Comparison with lead glasses found in Japan Lead glasses of Mireuksa Temple were compared with those of Japan on the basis of chemical and physical data. Chemical compositions of Japanese lead glasses dated $7^{th}{\sim}8^{th}$ century A.D. were nearly similar with those of Mireuksa Temple but lead isotope ratios of those were separated into two groups. Three distribution maps of lead ores of Korea, Japan and China with lead isotope ratios were applied for lead glasses found in Japan. The result have shown that the locations of lead glasses from Fukuoka Prefecture coincided with the region of northen part of Korea and similar with those of Mireuksa Temple and lead glasses from Nara Prefecture dated $8^{th}$ century A.D. were located in the region of Japanese lead ore. This research has demonstrated that lead glasses of Mireuksa Temple conveyed to Miyajidake site, Fukuoka Prefecture around $7^{th}$ century A.D. and glass melting pots and glass beads excavated from Nara Prefecture confirmed the first use of Japanese lead ore for production of lead glasses from the end of $7^{th}$ century A.D.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Health Society Conference
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• 2003.06a
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• pp.24-25
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• 2003

Lead is ubiquitous in the human environment as a result of industrialization. China's rapid industrialization and traffic growth have increased the potential for lead emissions. Lead poisoning in children is one of the most common public health problems today, and it is entirely preventable. Children are more vulnerable to lead pollution and lead in their bodies can affect their nervous, circulatory, and digestive systems. Children are exposed to lead from different sources (such as paint, gasoline, and solder) and through different pathways (such as air, food, water, dust, and soil). Although all children are exposed to some lead from food, air, dust, and soil, some children are exposed to high dose sources of lead. Significant sources of lead for China's children include industrial emissions (often close to housing and schools), leaded gasoline, and occupational exposure that occurs when parents wear lead-contaminated clothing home from work, burning of coal for home heat and cooking, contaminated food, and some traditional medicines. To assess the blood lead level in children in China, a large-scale study was conducted in 19 cities among 9 provinces during 1997 to 2000. There were 6502 children, aged 3-5 years, were recruited in the study The result indicates that the mean blood lead level was 8.83ug/dl 3-5 year old living in city area. The mean blood lead level of boys was higher than that of girls (9.1l ug/dl vs 8.73ug/dl). Almost 30 percent childrens blood lead level exceeded 10ug/dl. The average blood lead level was higher than that of in 1985 (8.83ug/dl vs 8.lug/dl). An epidemiological study was carried on the children living around the cottage industries recycling the lead from battery. Nine hundreds fifty nine children, aged 5-12 years, living in lead polluted villages where the lead smelters located near the residential area and 207 control children live in unpolluted area were recruited in the study. The lead levels in air, soil, drinking water and crops were measured. The blood lead and ZnPP level were tested for all subjects. The results show that the local environment was polluted. The lead levels both in the air and crops were much higher than that of in control area. In the polluted area, the average blood level was 49.6ug/dl (rang 19.5-89.3ug/dl). Whereas, in the unpolluted area, the average blood level was 12.4ug/dl (rang 4.6-24.8ug/dl). This study indicates that in some countryside area, some cottage industries induce seriously lead pollution and cause children health problem. For the introducing of unleaded gasoline in some large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, the blood lead level showed a declined trend since 1997. By 2000, the use of leaded gasoline in motor vehicles has been prohibited in China. The most recent data available show that levels of lead in blood among children in Shanghai decreased from 8.3ug/dl in 1997 to 7.6ug/dl in 1999. The prevalence rate of children lead poisoning (blood lead >10ug/dl) was also decreased from 37.8% to 24.8%. In children living in downtown area, the blood lead level reduced dramatically. To explore the relationship between gene polymorphisms and individual susceptibility of lead poisoning, a molecular epidemiological study was conducted among children living in lead polluted environment. The result showed that the subjects with ALAD2 allele has higher ZPP level, and the subjects with VDR B allele has larger head circumference than only with b allele. In the present study, we demonstrated that ALAD genotypes modify lead effects on heme metabolism and VDR gene variants influence the skull development in highly exposed children. The polymorphism of ALAD and VDR genes might be the molecular inherited factor modifying the susceptibility of lead poisoning. Recently, Chinese government pays more attention to lead pollution and lead poisoning in children problem. The leaded gasoline was prohibited used in motor vehicles since 2000. The government has decided to have a clampdown on the high-polluted lead smelters for recycling the lead from battery in countryside. It is hopeful that the risk of lead poisoning in children will be decreased in the further

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.7 no.1_2
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• pp.53-57
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• 1992

Amount of lead burden in a tissue reflects poisoning of lead in that tissue, so is the removal of lead directly connected to curement of lead poisoning. The purpose of present study was to investigate the relative effects of penicillamine and thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide (TTFD) or thiamine propyl disulfide (TPD) in the removal of lead from rat brain tissue treated with excessive lead. Wistar rat pups of both sexes were used in this experiment. Within 1 day of parturition, experimental mothers nursing their pups as well as rat pups were given drinking water containing 0.2% lead acetate, TTFD 20mg/1.2 L (2 mg/kg/day), TPD 20 mg/1.2 L (2mg/kg/day), penicillamine 40 mg/1.2 L (40 mg/kg/day), 0.2% lead acetate+TTFD 20mg/1.2 L (2 mg/kg/day), 0.2% lead acetate+ TPD 20 mg/1.2 L (2 mg/kg/day) or 0.2% lead acetate+ penicillamine 40 mg/1.2 L (40 mg/kg/day) ad libitum, throughout the entire period of experiment. Rat pups in the control group received normal tap water. The animals were sacrificed by decapitation on the day when they become 2 or 8 weeks of age. Brains were dissected into five regions: telencephalon, diencephalon, midbrain, pons/medulla and cerebellum. The dissected brain tissues were lyophillized and then solubilized by acid mixture (nitric acid + sulfuric acid). Lead levels in the solubilized brain tissues were measured by the inductively coupled plasma. In lead-exposed rats, lead levels were significantly higher than those of control group in all brain legions, lead levels in brain regions of TTFD or TPD group were generally lower than those of control group. The simultaneous administration of lead with TTFD or TPD to animals caused significant decrement of lead from all brain regions. In the elimination of lead from brain regions, effectiveness of TTFD or TPD was equivalant to penicillamine.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.95-103
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• 1991

For the purpose of estimating the working environment and the relationship between the airborne lead concentration and the ZPP level in the whole blood of the workers, the airborne lead concentrations and the ZPP level were measured at the 26 plants which deal with lead, from October 5 to November 5 in 1988. Analysis of the airborne lead concentration was performed by NIOSH Method 7082, and the ZPP level was measured by a hematofluorometer. The following results are concluded. 1. The average airborne lead concentration of the lead battery manufactures is 0.025mg/m$^{3}$ and that of the secondary lead smelters is 0.023mg/m$^{3}$. There were no significant differences between industry (p>0.1) 2. At the lead battery manufacture, the process of lead powder production showed the highest concentration of 0.034mg/m$^{3}$ but there were no significant differences among the processes (p>0.1). At the secondary lead smelter, the process of dismantling waste batteries showed the highest concentration 0.141mg/m$^{3}$, and there were very significant differences among the processes (p<0.005). 3. The ZPP level in the whole blood showed significant differences between industry (p<0.10). The average ZPP level of the lead battery manufactures is 133.0 + 106.3 $\mu$g/100ml and that of the secondary lead smelters is 149.6 + 110.9 $\mu$g/100ml. 4. The correlation coefficients between the airborne lead concantration and ZPP level were 0. 426 (p<0.001) for the lead battery manufactures and 0.484 (p<0.001) for the secondary lead smelters. The correlation coefficients between the work duration (in months) and the ZPP level were 0.238 (p<0.001) for the lead battery mannfactures and 0.075 (p>0.10) for the secondary lead smelters. 5. The linear regression equation, with the airborne lead concentration as an independent variable and the ZPP level as a dependent variable, is Y=96.84+1300.34X (r=0.448, p<0.001) for the 26 plants which deal with lead. The linear regression equation, with the work duration(in months) as an independent variable and the ZPP level as a dependent variable, is Y=127.28 +0.49X (r=0.162, p<0.05). 6. The correlation coefficients between the amount of inhaled lead and ZPP level were 0.349 (p < 0.001) for the lead battery manufactures and 0.318(p<0.001) for the secondary lead smeltes. The linear regression equation for the 26 plants surveyed, with the amount of inhaled lead as an independent variable and ZPP level as a dependent variable, is Y=123.63+18.82X (r=0. 335, p<0.001).

• Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.265-271
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• 1996

This study was conducted to investigate distribution of lead particles by operation of industry, to evaluate the effect of particle size on the absorption to workers, and to recommend the Occupational Health Standard for lead. Total lead concentrations in the secondary smelting industry were higher than those in the battery and litharge manufacturing industry. Total lead concentrations in other industries except radiator manufacturing industry exceeded the standard of $50{\mu}g/m^3$. Only radiator manufacturing industry indicated lead concentrations significantly lower than those in other industries(p<0.05). Average blood lead level of workers was $85.1{\mu}g/dl$ in secondary smelting manufacturing, $51.3{\mu}g/dl$ in the battery manufacturing, and below $40{\mu}g/dl$ in the litharge and radiator manufacturing industry. Blood lead levels of workers by industry were significantly different(p<0.05). From relationship between airborne lead concentrations by size and lead in blood, confidence limits of airborne lead concentration equivalent to $40{\mu}g/dl$ of permissible limit in blood, was $147.9-489.8{\mu}g/m^3$ as total lead and $28.8-79.4{\mu}g/m^3$ as ACGIH-RPM. It is recommended that two separate occupational health standards for lead should be established by particle size. Airborne concentration of $150{\mu}g/m^3$ as fatal lead dust and $30{\mu}g/m^3$ as respirable lead dust was recommended.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.288-293
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• 1995

In the present study, we tested whether lead intoxication could change the thiamine content and the activity of transketolase, one of thiamine-dependent enzymes, in the brain of rats. It was also tested whether administration of excessive thiamine can reverse the toxic manifestation of lead in the lead intoxicated rats. Four groups of Wistar rats were prepared: 1) control group, 2) lead treated group, 3) lead plus thiamine treated group and 4) thiamine deficient group. Each group of animals was divided into three subgroups based on ages: 3, 7 and 16 weeks. Lead concentration, thiamine content and the activity of transketolase in three different brain regions, i.e.,, telencephalon, brain stem and cerebellum, were measured in each group. Lead concentrations in brain regions of the lead treated group were significantly higher than those of the control group, and those of the lead plus thiamine treated group were significantly decreased from those of the lead treated group. Thiamine contents in the brain regions of the lead treated group were significantly lower than those of the control group, and those of the lead plus thiamine treated group were recovered back to those of the control group. Activities of transketolase in the brain regions of the lead treated group and the thiamine deficient group were significantly lower than those of the control group, while those of the lead plus thiamine treated group were higher than the lead treated group. The results from the present study suggest that neurotoxicity following lead intoxication in rats may be mediated, at least in part, through the changes of thiamine status and consequently thiamine-dependent biochemical reactions such as theactivity of transketolase.

• Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 2004

A cross-sectional epidemiologic study was conducted to evaluate vitamin C nutritional status by assessing dietary intake and blood vitamin C level and to identify the relationships between dietary vitamin C intake, serum vitamin C level and blood lead level in Korean lead workers. The study population was 118 lead workers from two battery manufacturing factories and 63 non-lead-exposed controls. A food consumption survey was conducted by the 24-hr recall method to determine the dietary vitamin C intake level. The anthropometric measurements, blood collection, and survey were performed between September and November, 2000. Blood lead levels and serum vitamin C levels were measured using an atomic absorption spectrometer and high performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Vitamin C nutritional status of Korean lead workers was lower than that of the control group, in terms of both dietary intake and the biochemical index: the mean daily dietary intake level of vitamin C of lead workers was 65.9mg (94% RDA), while that of controls was 132.6mg(189% RDA) ; and the serum vitamin C status of lead workers (0.10mg/dl) was significantly lower than that of controls (1.08mg/dl ; p<0.001). Both dietary vitamin C intake and serum vitamin C levels showed a significant negative correlation with blood lead level (p<0.001), which indicates that strategies of dietary management to promote the health of Korean lead workers should focus on promoting the vitamin C intakes of individuals.