Why do you need it?
Lead is a soft, metallic, blue-grey heavy metal. In the workplace, lead may be encountered as a dust or fume in a pure, oxide or salt form.
Workers may be exposed to lead through:
- manufacture or handling of dry lead compounds
- assembly, handling or repair of, or parts of, batteries containing lead
- melting or casting lead or metal alloys
- dry machine grinding, discing, buffing or cutting by power tools alloys containing more than five per cent by weight of lead
- recovering lead from its ores, oxides or other compounds by thermal reduction process
- processes that create lead dust or lead fumes.
Lead can accumulate in the body and cause severe adverse health effects which may differ based on age and gender including:
- lead general health effects
- irreversible brain damage
- kidney and liver damage
- nervous system damage
- seizures and unconsciousness or even death
- reproduction and pregnancy
- infertility
- harm to unborn babies
- developmental issues for children of women exposed during pregnancy.
How does it work?
Due to the damaging effects of lead exposure, health monitoring and early intervention is required to protect workers who are required to handle Lead containing material in lead risk work.
Health monitoring for lead exposure should occur:
- prior to commencing lead risk work
- one month after commencing lead risk work.
- at scheduled periods during employment involving handling of lead or lead containing material
- at termination of lead risk work
- after suspected acute exposure to lead
- if a worker is concerned they’ve been exposed to lead
- as part of risk management for pregnant worker or workers planning a pregnancy.
Biological Monitoring for lead:
- Blood lead (inorganic) pathology
Frequency required:
- females of reproductive capacity at least every 3 months but more frequently if a blood lead is ≥5µg/dL (0.24µmol/L)
- males and females not of reproductive capacity every 6 months but more frequently if a blood lead is ≥10µg/dL (0.48µmol/L).
The medical assessment requirements include:
- demographic, medical and occupational history
Physical examination :
- blood lead biological monitoring
- medical report
- pulmonary function test in cases where there is airborne lead exposure .
Additionally :
- education regarding lead exposure
- medical report on termination of lead work.
Resile can conduct both medical assessments and biological monitoring as part of your health monitoring requirements. These assessments can be conducted in our clinics or on your site (for minimum numbers).
