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Lead can be absorbed by the body through inhalation, ingestion, dermal contact (mainly as a result of occupational exposure)Footnote 33 or transfer via the placenta.Footnote 34 In adults, approximately 10% of ingested lead is absorbed into the body.Footnote 20 Young children absorb from 40% to 53% of lead ingested from food.Footnote 35,Footnote 36 For lead in soil and dust, the gastrointestinal absorption rate in children has been estimated as 30%.Footnote 21 Absorption of lead is greatly increased after fasting and when the intakes of dietary calcium and phosphorus are low.Footnote 37,Footnote 38The relationship between blood lead levels of children and adults and the concentration of lead in water and in food appears to be curvilinear overall, with the curve at low doses near-linear.Footnote 39,Footnote 40, Footnote 41, Footnote 42 The amount of airborne lead deposited and absorbed in the lungs of adults ranges from 30% to 50%.Footnote 20 No data on absorption following inhalation in children are available; however, their respiratory uptake of lead is likely to be comparatively greater than that of adults on a body weight basis.Footnote 20 Placental transfer of lead occurs in humans as early as the twelfth week of gestation, and uptake of lead by the foetus continues throughout development.Footnote 43 The concentration of lead in umbilical cord blood is correlated with maternal blood lead levels in ratios that range from 0.8 to 1.0.Footnote 34,Footnote 39,Footnote 44,Footnote 45 The ratio of foetal blood lead level to maternal blood lead level is also about 0.8 to 1.0.Footnote 34,Footnote 44Once lead is absorbed, it enters either a "rapid turnover" biological pool with distribution to the soft tissues (blood, liver, lung, spleen, kidney and bone marrow) or a "slow turnover" pool with distribution mainly to the skeleton.Footnote 46 Of total body lead, approximately 80 to 95% in adults and about 73% in children accumulate in the skeleton.Footnote 47,Footnote 48 The biological half-life of lead is approximately 16 to 40 days in bloodFootnote 46,Footnote 49 and about 17 to 27 years in bones.Footnote 46,Footnote 50Metabolic balance studies in infants and young children indicated that net retention of lead averaged 32% of intake above intakes of 5 µg/kg bw per day, whereas retention was negative (i.e., excretion exceeded intake) below 5 µg/kg bw per day. Regression analysis indicated a balance point of 4.1 µg/kg bw per day.Footnote 36 No increases in blood le
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