Biological monitoring of lead in workers exposed to tetraethyllead

The excretion of inorganic, and total lead was investigated in the urine of workers who were exposed to tetraethyllead (TEL) at gasoline stations. Concentrations of total and inorganic lead after chelation-extraction were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) in combination with a slotted quartz tube. The limit of detection was 5.2 × 10−3 μg Pb/ml; average total lead and inorganic lead concentrations in the urine of workers were 79.0 (range 22.6–158.9 μg Pb/g creatinine) and 37.3 μg Pb/g creatinine (range 5.1–121.0), respectively. In the control group, the mean of the urinary total lead and inorganic lead levels were 5.5 and 3.9 μg Pb/g creatinine, respectively. The difference between total and inorganic lead concentrations could be due to organic lead present in the urine.