QUESTION: Bone XRF locations & lead poisoning effects for menopausal women - 10 May 2007 Virginia, USA

I am an adult female 59 years old and was diagnosed with Level 5 lead poisoning (BLM 89) after years of chronic exposure in the stained glass industry. I have been searching in vain for a site that does the K XRP or X-ray Fluorescence test in Virginia or surrounding states. I am also interested in any information regarding lead poisoning effects for menopausal women.

EMAIL TWO:

Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 9:21 AM

Dear Elizabeth,

Thank you so much for your prompt reply and the extensive information you sent. It will be a great help.

As to the Level 5 it is one of those government (OSHA) Occupational Safety and Health Administration terms that we seem to be so fond of in this country and denotes blood levels over 70. The 89 is yes 89 µg/ and yes I have taken the chelation therapy (awful) which brought it down to 11.

My concern is this was a long term (12year) exposure and all I have read about lead storage in bones and tissues has me concerned. Adult lead poisoning is not common in the U.S.. and particularly in women my age. Even my doctor did not know very much about it and had to research in order to treat me.

Your information is of great help and again I thank you for your time and trouble.

Jennifer

P.S. I love Australia and Australians, I hope to visit your beautiful country someday!!!!!

ANSWER: 10 May 2007

Dear Jennifer,

Despite having dealt with over 54,000 enquiries on lead poisoning, I am not familiar with the terms "Level 5 Lead Poisoning" or "BLM". Do you mean that you had a blood lead level of 89 micrograms per decilitre (89 mcg/dL, also sometimes written as 89 µg/dL )? If so, then is your doctor chelating you? To answer your question about health effects, I am emailing you our most recent Info Pack on the dangers of a blood lead level above 2 micrograms per decilitre, which has several articles about adult lead exposure. I am also sending you our Info Pack on lead and ageing.

Unfortunately, I only know of two locations in the world where bone XRF is available - both in North America: Here are the contact details:

1. Prof David Chettle, Professor, Medical Physics & Applied Radiation Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, phone +1 905 525 9140 ext. 27340 http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/medphys/faculty/33-david-r-chettle.html
2. Prof Howard Hu, Director and Professor of Public Health Sciences, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, phone +1 416 978 8989 http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/faculty-profile/howard-hu