Blood lead levels in a Welsh rural community.

In a study of the blood lead levels of 626 healthy blood donors no differences were found between men and women, but there was a significant increase with age. Resident donors had a higher blood lead than students, and the level in residents increased with living in the Aberystwyth area up to about 20 years. The levels in the students did not increase with residence in Aberystwyth. No differences were found in the blood lead of donors living in different wards of Aberystwyth and none between the blood lead of donors living in the rural area and those in the town. Almost half of the local resident donors had a level above the "normal" range.