A direct rapid method to estimate blood-lead level (BLL) among coastal villagers of karachi

Quantitation of blood lead was done by a direct method that was developed and validated being easy and simple with rapid high-performance. lead being an environmental pollutant and lead exposure being a preventable risk that exists in the pakistani coastal areas. the calibration curve was showed a good linear relationship with r2=0.99 of the concentration range as 5-10 μg/dl in linear regression analysis data. international guidelines as well as on the basis of results of the inter laboratory comparative study (ilc) conducted by the center for diseases control (cdc) to validate the lab developed method of direct estimation of blood lead. the minimum detectable amount was found to be 5μg/dl. the lod (lower limit of detection) of this method was 10ppb. significant conclusion of the data analysis was proved method precision,accuracy,reproducibility,and selectivity to estimate blood lead. thus this method could be employed for the estimation of lead in routine laboratory diagnosis at commercial level testing with confidence. during ilc testing the 10μg/dl bll was not recognized by cdc as threshold for lead harmful effects and the preliminary data of the present research started in 2009 in the coastal villages of karachi has also strengthened this evidence. it was observed that <10μg/dl bll may have impact on villager's physical and mental development. average estimated value of bll was 5.5μg/dl in blood samples of 24 villagers.