Abstract
Using a fluorometric HPLC method, we determined δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in sera and urine samples from 16 lead workers with blood lead levels ranging from 19 to 107 μG/100 ml. The concentration of ALA in serum correlated highly with the urinary ALA concentration (γ=0.957 for ALA mg/1, γ=0.967 for ALA mg/g creatinine). The ALA concentrations in the serum of lead workers ranged from 11 to 151 μg/1 with a mean of 51 μg/1. In addition, the concentrations of urinary ALA (mg/g creatinine) and serum ALA μg/1) had a strong correlation with blood lead concentrations (γ=0.838 and 0.892, respectively).
These data indicate that the measurement of serum ALA, as well as urinary ALA, is very useful for the biological monitoring of occupational lead exposure.
