Feasibility of lead exposure assessment in blood spots using x-ray fluorescence
Year: 2019
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: TPS 621: Exposure to metals, Johan Friso Foyer, Floor 1, August 26, 2019, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Lead has been a centerpiece for environmental health studies over the past few decades. Lead has been shown to have effects even at relatively low levels both on neurodevelopment and cardiovascular health. Blood spots are widely collected in hospital settings and have potential for field studies in low- and middle-income countries where resources may be limited. In our study, we wanted to test the feasibility of using a high-powered x-ray fluorescence (XRF) device to accurately measure the concentration of lead in blood spots. We created spotted standards of known concentration of lead on filter paper at different volumes and concentrations. We determined the detection limit through repeated measurements of our standards as well as known value human blood spots to be 1.7 ug/dL of blood lead on average. This detection limit is similar to those of the atomic absorption spectrometer techniques, which were used for blood lead surveillance for decades. We also tested the variability of measured lead concentration with variations of spotted blood volume and found no significant correlation between volume and measured concentration. Finally, we tested the accuracy of the technique to determine concentrations of blood lead from whole blood samples previously measured via inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) as well. We spotted the blood (average blood lead of 2.9 ug/dL) onto filter paper and dried the blood spots thoroughly prior to measurement with the XRF. We found a significant correlation (rho=0.7 p-value <0.001) between the lead measured via XRF on spotted blood and ICP-MS results from the whole blood. This indicates blood spots measured via XRF can be effectively used as a surveillance tool for lead exposure, but future studies should be done to identify proper controls for contamination in field studies.
Source: Environmental Epidemiology
Authors: Specht A, Weisskopf M
Institution: Harvard University
Language: English
Subfield: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,200
OpenAlex ID: W2981984022