TOOTH LEAD CONCENTRATIONS IN SCHOOL-CHILDREN FROM DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS OF NORTH-WESTERN GERMANY

Lead concentrations have been analyzed in decidious teeth (incisors only) from 730 five to twelve-year-old school children living in two different areas of North Western Germany. Area A is a heavily industrialized city in the Ruhr-district (Duisburg); Area B is a suburban or rural area (Gummersbach, Bergisches Land). Tooth lead concentrations were found to be in the range of 1.4-12.7 μg Pb/g. The Duisburg children (N = 690) had a mean tooth lead concentration of 4.53 μg/g, whereas the mean value of the Gummersbach children (N = 40) was 2.74 μ/g. In agreement with other authors, a slight increase of tooth lead concentrations with increasing age, but no sex specific differences were found. On investigating the variation of tooth lead concentrations by place of residence within the city of Duisburg, the highest spatially sliding logarithmic mean values were found in the neighborhood of two large factories emitting lead, whereas tooth lead concentrations in the other parts of the city showed a diffuse scattering, decreasing clearly, however, in suburban areas. Tooth lead concentrations are discussed as an indicator of long-term, cumulative lead exposure, reflecting the different exposure conditions in the two areas. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.