ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
TABLE 1
Peer-Reviewed Articles Related to Lead in Ethiopia
Author and Year
Title
Main Finding
Abebe et al., 2024
Assessment of occupational exposure to lead among workers engaged in a city bus garage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A comparative cross-sectional study
High BLL among exposed workers with predictors being extra hours, service years, and having previous employment in a city bus garage
Molla et al., 2022
Acute poisoning in children in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Rates of acute lead poisoning were higher than reported in other studies; much of the poisoning was from agrochemicals Lead levels exceeded WHO and Ethiopian standards in 40% of cases; more emphasis should be placed on removing lead from water sources Concluded that Addis Ababa’s drinking water likely is a source of lead exposure, and consumers at specific city locations are at risk of numerous noncancer health effects In the vegetable samples, the mean concentrations of lead were above the limits set by FAO/WHO; leafy vegetables had the highest levels On average, the model predicted that 20% of children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, have BLLs >10ug/dl A study group that lived near the highway had significantly higher BLLs than the comparison group that lived away from the highway BLLs of construction workers in Jimma were considerably high, indicating a danger of imminent lead toxicity Findings clearly demonstrated that BLLs of automotive-garage workers are considerably high and workers are in danger of lead toxicity Very high lead concentrations were not found; findings indicated that child lead exposure in Ethiopia is relatively low, especially in rural populations Findings indicated that workers in lead-acid battery repair units of the transport services were not protected from high lead exposure Concentrations of lead were slightly higher than other African studies due to petrol emissions Concentrations of lead in Swiss chard, cabbage, lettuce, parsley, potato, green onion, beetroot, and cucumber had much higher lead concentrations than recommended by WHO/FAO standards
Berego et al., 2021
Concentration of heavy metals in drinking water of Hawassa Zuria Woreda, Sidama Region, Ethiopia
Endale et al., 2021
Exposure and health risk assessment from consumption of Pb contaminated water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Berihun et al., 2021
Determination of the level of metallic contamination in irrigation vegetables, the soil, and the water in Gondar City, Ethiopia Predicting children’s blood lead levels from exposure to school drinking water in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Debebe et al., 2020
Chercos & Moges, 2016 Higher blood levels among childbearing women in nearby Addis Ababa-Adama highway, Ethiopia
Gebrie et al., 2014
Elevated BLLs among unskilled construction workers in Jimma, Ethiopia Occupational lead exposure among automotive garage workers: A case study for Jimma town, Ethiopia
Adela et al., 2012
Tvinnereim et al., 2011 Lead levels in primary teeth in children from urban and rural areas in Ethiopia
Ahmed et al., 2008
Lead exposure study among workers in lead acid battery repair units of transport service enterprises, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study
Rahlenbeck et al., 1999 Lead and cadmium in Ethiopian vegetables
Habte at al., 2023
Lead concentration in vegetables in Ethiopia
Note. BLLs = blood lead levels; FAO = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; Pb = lead; WHO = World Health Organization.
including women in Ethiopia (Table 1); occupational hazards to mechanics and con- struction workers; and elevated lead levels in urban water, soil, and vegetables. By extracting values from some of the liter- ature presented in Table 1, we present a sum- mary of BLLs above the 3.5 µg/dl reference point set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Figure 1). In lead-related literature for Ethiopia, one of the major lead exposure sources is drinking water, which is contaminated from old pipe
systems and unmonitored lead-containing water supply fittings and fixtures. The lead content in drinking water from urban areas of Ethiopia was frequently found to exceed the WHO drinking water quality standard of 10 ppb (Figure 2). IPEN, PAN-Ethiopia, and GIZ made con- siderable advances in the regulation of lead paint and the development of regulations and directives pertaining to ULAB. These regulatory and institutional frameworks posi- tion Ethiopia as a leader in Africa. Although
advances have been made in ULAB recy- cling and paint regulation, Ethiopia lacks a national testing facility for BLLs and con- sumer product safety. Additionally, field assessments were con- ducted by PAN-Ethiopia, GIZ, and the Ethio- pian EPA to document the unsafe disman- tling of ULAB, improper disposal of sulfuric acid, use of lead cookware, and the exposure of children and workers to lead in repair garages. The documented cases of informal recycling of ULAB and the high potential for
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Volume 89 • Number 4
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