the Scienceof the -I&al Emdronment A.--c-u L*.-~.--~ The Science of the Total Environment 191 (1996) 69-76 Atmospheric lead pollution in KwaZulu/Natal, South Africa Jerome Nriagu *a Champak Jinabhaib, Rajen Naidoob, Anna Coutsoudis” , “Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA ‘Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa “Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa Received 7 March 1996; accepted 31 May 1996 Abstract Average atmospheric concentrations of lead were found to be 1.8, 0.86, 0.56 and 0.44 pg m-’ in industrial, commercial, park/beach and residential areas of Durban. Exposure to these elevatedlevelswould represent a health hazard to many children in the city. Lower lead concentrations were found in a local township (0.26 pg rnp3) and rural (0.03 yg m-‘) areasof Natal Province. The study provided background data that can be usedto follow the trajectory of changein atmospheric lead levels now that lead-free gasoline has been introduced into the country. Keywords: Lead pollution; South Africa; Gasoline; KwaZulu/Natal Province; Health risks 1. Introduction Environmental lead pollution is a global fihe- nomenon, and the atmosphere is the key medium for worldwide dispersion and deposition of this toxic element. Although lead is emitted from a wide variety of natural and anthropogenic sources, the dominant potential source in most African countries is automobile emissions (Nriagu et al., 1996). Lead contents of gasoline sold in Africa are now among the highest in the world, ranging generally from 0.4 to 1.0 g I- l (Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, 1994). Al- though a substantive database exists on lead as a toxic airborne pollutant, few measurements have * Corresponding author. been reported in African countries. Scientific and medical evidence accumulated during the past 2 decades (ATSDR, 1988; Needleman, 1992) sug- gest that environmental lead pollution from highly leaded gasoline sold in the continent should elicit adverse health outcomes in children in many towns and cities. The scarcity of data on ambient levels makes it difficult to assess the health risks associated with the lead pollution. This paper presents atmospheric concentrations of lead in rural, semi-urban and urban areas near Durban, KwaZulu/Natal Province. The study was designed to: (a) document current levels of lead pollution in the province; (b) provide baseline data for monitoring changes in airborne lead lev- els following the subsequent introduction of lead- free gasoline in February, 1996; and (c) provide 0048-9697/96/$15.00 0 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved PI2 SOO48-9697(96)05249-7