December 12th, 2017
BACKGROUND: Workers with blood lead levels (BLL) > or =60 microg/dl (50 microg/dl for construction workers) or with three or more consecutive BLLs over at least 6 months that average 50 microg/dl or greater are required to be removed from work involving lead exposure that exceeds the OSHA action level. This study estimates the proportion of workers with BLLs that trigger the medical removal provision by industry sector, and examines whether workers received appropriate follow-up blood lead testing. METHODS: Three years (2003-2005) of data from theAdult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance program were analyzed to identify those industries with a high percentage of workers with BLLs that trigger the medical removal provision.Adjusted rate ratios (RR) of adults with such BLLs were estimated by industry sector compared to the battery manufacturing industry using Poisson regression models. RESULTS: Out of 13,724 adults with BLLs > or =25 microg/dl, a total of 533 adults had BLLs that triggered the medical removal provision. RRs of adults with BLLs triggering medical removal were highest for