Broken Hill, the oldest silver (Ag)-zinc (Zn)-lead (Pb) mining community in Australia, has a legacy and ongoing problem of environmental Pb exposure that was identified as early as 1893. To reduce Pb exposure risks, identifying potential exposure pathways and related factors is a critical first step. This study examined blood lead (PbB) levels of children ≤60 months old (n = 24,106 samples), along with Pb concentrations in corresponding soil (n = 10,160 samples), petri-dish dust (n = 106 houses) and ceiling dust (n = 80 houses) over a 25-year period from 1991 to 2015. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between environmental Pb sources and children's blood lead (PbB) outcomes. Analysis of the dataset showed Aboriginal children in Broken Hill had a geometric mean PbB of 7.4 μg/dL (95% CI: 6.7-7.4) being significantly higher (p < 0.01) than non-Aboriginal children (PbB 6.2 μg/dL, 95% CI: 6.2-6.3) for all years between 1991 and 2015. Children at the age of 24-36 months had a higher PbB compared with other age groups. Higher PbB levels were also statistically associated with lower socio-economic status and children living in houses built before 1940 (p < 0.01). Blood Pb was also significantly correlated with both soil Pb and indoor petri-dish dust Pb loadings, confirming that these are important pathways for exposure in Broken Hill. A 100 mg/kg increase in soil Pb was associated with a 0.12 μg/dL increase in childhood PbB. In addition, PbB concentrations increased with indoor petri-dish dust Pb loadings (i.e., 0.08 μg/dL per 100 μg/m2/30 days). The 25-year data show that the risk of exposure at ≥ 10 μg/dL was seemingly unavoidable irrespective of residential address (i.e., children of all ages presenting with a ≥10 μg/dL across the whole city area). In terms of moving forward and mitigating harmful early-life Pb exposures, all children aged 24-36 months should be prioritised for feasible and effective intervention practices. Primary intervention must focus on mitigating contemporary ongoing dust emissions from the mining operations and the associated mine-lease areas along with household soil remediation, to help prevent recontamination of homes. Additional practices of dust cleaning using wet mopping and wiping techniques, vacuuming of carpets and furnishings, ongoing monitoring of children and household dust remain important but short-lived abatement strategies. Overall, the key goal should be to eliminate risk by removing contamination in the wider environment as well as in individual homes.

中文翻译：

---

儿童血铅暴露及其与环境来源的关系的25年记录。

Broken Hill是澳大利亚最古老的银（Ag）-锌（Zn）-铅（Pb）采矿社区，早在1893年就发现了遗留且持续存在的环境Pb暴露问题。为降低Pb暴露风险，确定潜力暴露途径和相关因素是关键的第一步。这项研究检查了≤60个月大的儿童的血铅（PbB）水平（n = 24,106个样本），以及相应土壤中的Pb浓度（n = 10,160个样本），培养皿灰尘（n = 106个房屋）和天花板灰尘（在1991年至2015年的25年期间内，n = 80所房屋）。使用回归分析检查了环境Pb来源与儿童血铅（PbB）结果之间的关系。数据集分析显示，布罗肯希尔（Broken Hill）的原住民儿童的几何平均PbB为7.4μg/ dL（95％CI：6.7-7）。4）在1991年至2015年之间的所有年份中，儿童的发病率均显着高于非土著儿童（PbB 6.2μg/ dL，95％CI：6.2-6.3）。24-36个月大的儿童较高PbB与其他年龄段相比。从统计学上讲，较高的PbB水平也与较低的社会经济地位和1940年前建造的房屋中的儿童相关（p <0.01）。血铅还与土壤铅和室内培养皿粉尘中的铅含量显着相关，这证实了这些是破碎山中暴露的重要途径。土壤铅的增加100 mg / kg与儿童铅的增加0.12μg/ dL有关。此外，PbB浓度随室内培养皿粉尘Pb含量的增加而增加（即每100μg/ m2 / 30天0.08μg/ dL）。25年的数据表明，无论居住地如何，暴露于≥10μg/ dL的风险似乎都是不可避免的（即，整个城市地区所有年龄段的儿童呈现≥10μg/ dL的风险）。在推进和减轻有害的早期生命期Pb暴露方面，应优先考虑所有24-36个月的儿童，以采取可行和有效的干预措施。主要干预措施必须着重于减轻采矿作业和相关的租赁区域以及采矿业对家庭土壤的污染，以防止当代房屋污染。使用湿擦拭和擦拭技术进行除尘的其他做法，地毯和家具的吸尘，对儿童和家庭灰尘的持续监控仍然很重要，但却是短期的消除策略。总体，