Exposures to Lead and Other Metals at an Aircraft Repair and Flight School Facility

In March 2012, the Health Hazard Evaluation Program received a request from the owners of an aircraft repair and flight school facility in Colorado to evaluate employee lead exposures. This was in response to concerns about lead exposure which began when a child who was at the worksite nearly every day was found to have a blood lead level (BLL) above 10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL); the CDC "level of concern" at the time of the site visit [CDC 1991]. The owners and employees were subsequently tested and found to have had BLLs less than 10 μg/dL; the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) adult blood lead reference value. The NIOSH Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program tracks elevated BLLs (i.e. BLLs at or above the reference value) among adults in the U.S. [CDC 2011].