A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publication concludes that lead exposure continues to be a risk for workers in the United States.

An article in the April 17 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly looked at data from a large number of states over the past several years.

Although the rate dropped between 2004 and 2005, it climbed 3 percentage points between 2005 and 2007 to 7.4 cases per 100,000 adults.

The majority of adults with elevated blood-lead levels were employed in manufacturing, construction, and mining.

As for recommendations to reverse the trend, the researchers suggested strengthening existing efforts, including:

• Employer-maintained worker- protection programs,
• Government programs such as CDC's Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance that tracks lab-reported elevated lead levels,
• NIOSH and OSHA initiatives such as OSHA's national emphasis program to reduce lead exposure,
• Research and interventions by worker-affiliated organizations, and
• Public education to prevent non- occupational exposures.