HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bois, F Y Articles by Benet, L Z Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bois, F Y Articles by Benet, L Z

Application of clearance concepts to the assessment of exposure to lead in drinking water.

F Y Bois, T N Tozer, L Zeise and L Z Benet

University of California-San Francisco, School of Pharmacy 94143-0446.

This paper explores the application of clearance concepts to environmental toxicology. Lead, for which a clearance of about 0.5 ml/min is estimated from published data, is chosen as an example. An index for the contribution of drinking water to total exposure is developed using these concepts. For lead, this index is shown to increase with the concentration of the metal in water; it is higher for children than for adults. At the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 micrograms/L proposed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average contribution from lead in drinking water is estimated to be 7 percent. The contribution in children is about twice as great. At and above the current MCL of 50 micrograms/L, drinking water becomes a major source of lead exposure.