Lead Contamination in Driver's Blood and Its Effects on Erythrocytes, Leukocytes, and Platelets as A Biomarker

Abstract

Lead as a component of air pollution has broad toxic effects and can be detrimental to humans, such as causing abnormalities in kidney function, digestive tract, nervous system, and hematopoietic disorders. Many people carry out their activities on the highway, one of which is an Angkot driver. Drivers who work on the road daily get direct exposure to air pollution, especially from lead (Pb). Therefore they are very vulnerable to the negative effects of lead (Pb). This study aimed to measure blood lead levels as a biomarker of lead contamination in a driving group in Palembang City. The subjects were drivers who had been working for more than 20 years (average 28 years) and the average age was 58 years. Testing blood lead levels using the APHA method and examining erythrocytes leukocytes and platelets using the impedance method and correlation test using the Spearman test. Based on the results of this study, there is a relationship between blood lead levels and erythrocyte (significance: 0.0019) and leukocyte (significance: 0.002) values, but there is no relationship between blood lead levels and platelet values (significance: 0.4), while blood lead levels in drivers are still within the threshold limit (average: 14.9804 µg/L).