Article original / Original article Saturnisme infantile. Quelles valeurs actuelles pour la plombémie? Lead poisoning in children. Current blood lead values

Objective: Lead in adult whole blood decreased by half between 2003 and 2012. During recent years, ex- posure to this element has decreased: lead was banned from gasoline, and the content of the metal in food and water has been reduced as well as atmospheric pollution. These factors all contribute to decreasing whole blood lead in children. The current mandatory declaration for lead poisoning in children is 100 µg/L. As reduction below 100 µg/L is under consideration, it seemed useful to determine current whole blood concentrations in children. Methods: Ninety-nine children below 18 years were included. Lead analysis was performed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrome- try (ICP-MS) in whole blood. Results: Median blood lead in these children was 10.9 µg/L. Concentrations from the 5th to the 95th percentile ranged from 6.1 µg/L to 23.4 µg/L. There was no significant difference due to age. Conclusion: When blood lead is higher than 25 µg/L in children it should be considered as an abnormal concentration.