Study on lead monitoring and intervention for children in Ninghai County

Objective This study was designed to understand lead content level of children and corresponding intervention effect through lead element monitoring and intervention for children in Ninghai County．Methods A method of cluster random sampling was adopted for selecting health children aged o to 14 years among permanent population of Ninghai County，and the hair within 5 cm distant from occiput was sampled for content determination of 6 elements．For children with content of hair lead higher than the specified limit，intervention measures，such as changing their bad habit of behavior，improving environment，adjusting their diet，and treating them with drugs，were taken dependent on relevant pathogenic risk factors，and the intervention effect was evaluated by comparison．Results The hair lead level of female children was higher than that of male children，and both the lead levels and corresponding standard—exceeding rates of children in coast area，city zone，plain，and mountain area were of a progressive increase sequence．Conclusion The effect of intervention for children with lead level higher than the specificd limit was significant．