Improving human health outcomes with a low-cost intervention to reduce exposures from lead acid battery recycling: Dong Mai, Vietnam

Bret Ericson; Thi To Duong; John Keith; Trong Cuu Nguyen; Deborah Havens; William Daniell; Catherine J Karr; Doan Ngoc Hai; Lo Van Tung; Tran Thi Nhi Ha; Brian Wilson; David Hanrahan; Gerry Croteau; Mark Patrick Taylor

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.042

Improving human health outcomes with a low-cost intervention to reduce exposures from lead acid battery recycling: Dong Mai, Vietnam

Environ Res. 2018 Feb:161:181-187. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.042. Epub 2017 Nov 15.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Pure Earth, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 860, New York, NY 10025, USA; Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia; College of Global Public Health, New York University, 41 East 11th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. Electronic address: bret@pureearth.org.
² Centre for Environment and Community Development, House No.23, Alley No.1104, De La Thanh street, Hanoi, Vietnam.
³ Pure Earth, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 860, New York, NY 10025, USA.
⁴ Department of Planning and Finance, Vietnam Environment Administration, 10 Ton That Thuyet Street, Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁵ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
⁶ National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health, 57. Le Quy Don, Hai Ba Trung, Ha Noi, Vietnam.
⁷ International Lead Management Centre, 525 Meridian Parkway, Suite 100, Research Triangle Park, NC 27713, USA.
⁸ Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.

PMID: 29154175
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2017.10.042

Abstract

This study details the first comprehensive evaluation of the efficacy of a soil lead mitigation project in Dong Mai village, Vietnam. The village's population had been subject to severe lead poisoning for at least a decade as a result of informal Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) recycling. Between July 2013 to February 2015, Pure Earth and the Centre for Environment and Community Development (Hanoi, Vietnam) implemented a multi-faceted environmental and human health intervention. The intervention consisted of a series of institutional and low-cost engineering controls including the capping of lead contaminated surface soils, cleaning of home interiors, an education campaign and the construction of a work-clothes changing and bathing facility. The mitigation project resulted in substantial declines in human and environmental lead levels. Remediated home yard and garden areas decreased from an average surface soil concentration of 3940mg/kg to <100mg/kg. One year after the intervention, blood lead levels in children (<6 years old) were reduced by an average of 67%-from a median of 40.4μg/dL to 13.3μg/dL. The Dong Mai project resulted in significantly decreased environmental and biological lead levels demonstrating that low-cost, rapid and well-coordinated interventions could be readily applied elsewhere to significantly reduce preventable human health harm.

Keywords: Education; House dust intervention; Low- and middle-income countries; Soil lead dust intervention; Used lead acid battery.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Child
Dust
Environmental Exposure* / prevention & control
Health Status
Humans
Lead Poisoning* / prevention & control
Lead* / adverse effects
Lead* / blood
Recycling
Vietnam

Substances

Dust
Lead