HSE accused of complacency on lead exposure

UK limits on exposure to lead are too lax and could be putting tens of thousands of workers at risk of serious health problems a new report has warned. The, as yet unpublished, report reveals that around 5000 workers, known to have blood lead levels below the UK's recommended action level could be suffering serious ill-health effects from exposure to lead.

The report points to an abundance of supporting research which warns that blood levels of lead less than 20µg/100ml can cause hypertension, a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney damage, and impaired kidney and brain function. HSE figures, which give a breakdown of blood lead levels for all those under medical surveillance, apparently indicate that more than 5000 workers in 2007/08 had blood lead levels above 10µg/100ml, of whom roughly 3200 had levels in excess of 20µg/100ml. Just shy of 700 had exposures in excess of 40µg/100ml. all had levels of lead, which, according to the new information, puts them at risk of permanent health damage.

The HSE's šlead and you' guide claims: "serious health problems rarely occur unless people have at least 100 microgrammes of lead per decilitre of blood." However, the guidance has recently been removed from its website and an HSE spokesperson has said: "The leaflet šlead and you' was due a periodic review that has now begun, and this will take into account the latest scientific developments and the language used to be clear about risks. The leaflet will then be republished and will also be available free on the HSE website."

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