Occupational and Environmental Exposure to Lead in Iran: A Systematic Review

There is very Iittle information on the rate of occupational and environmental exposure to lead in Iran, as this information is important for planning preventive interventions in the future, it seemed necessary to conduct a review about this issue. The aim of this article is to summarize the status of lead exposure in different sections of the Iranian society according to published articles. Databases: All accessible electronic databases including Google Scholar, Science Direct, Iranmedex, SID, Magiran, Web of Knowledge and Pubmed were searched with phrases about lead contamination in humans in Iran and in both Persian and English languages. Among the 45 articles that were retrieved, 43 papers about measuring lead contamination in humans were selected. According to the selected studies, the average amount of lead in Iranian adults is higher in comparison to other developed countries, and in some studies the amount is above standard. The blood lead level was also high in workers of industries related to lead. This review shows that the average amount of the blood lead level in Iranian children was above the standard 10 mgr/dl threshold in all studies It seems like lead contamination is high in Iranians and the reason may be the continuous use of leaded gasoline in the past, contamination of food, and occupational exposure. The result of this study highlights the importance of conducting screening programs in children and workers of special occupations in order to diagnose people at risk of lead exposure and prevent their further contamination.