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High-Precision (MC-ICPMS) Isotope Ratio Analysis Reveals Contrasting Sources of Elevated Blood Lead Levels of an Adult with Retained Bullet Fragments, and of His Child, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Abstract

Exposure to the neurotoxic element lead (Pb) continues to be a major human health concern, particularly for children in US urban settings, and the need for robust tools for assessment of exposure sources has never been greater. The latest generation of multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICPMS) instrumentation offers the capability of using Pb isotopic signatures as a tool for environmental source tracking in public health. We present a case where MC-ICPMS was applied to isotopically resolve Pb sources in human clinical samples. An adult male and his child residing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, presented to care in August 2015 with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) (>200 μg/dL for the adult and 10 μg/dL for the child). The adult subject is a gunshot victim who had multiple bullet fragments embedded in soft tissue of his thigh for approximately 10 years. This study compared the high-precision isotopic fingerprints (<1 ‰ 2σ external precision) of Pb in the adult’s and child’s whole blood (WB) to the following possible Pb sources: a surgically extracted bullet fragment, household paint samples and tap water, and a Pb water-distribution pipe removed from servicing a house in the same neighborhood. Pb in the bullet and adult WB were nearly isotopically indistinguishable (matching within 0.05–0.56 ‰), indicating that bullet fragments embedded in soft tissue could be the cause of both acute and chronic elevated blood Pb levels. Among other sources investigated, no single source dominated the child’s exposure profile as reflected in the elevated BLL.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was provided by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health. The authors thank Paul Biedrzycki and Lindsey Page from the City of Milwaukee Health Department and Milwaukee Water Works as well as chemists at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, including Joel Overdier and Andy Klisz of the Trace Element Clean Laboratory and DeWayne Kennedy-Parker and Roger Schultz of the Wisconsin Occupational Health Laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2601 Agriculture Dr, Madison, WI, 53718, USA

    Kate E. Smith, Martin M. Shafer & Patrick R. Gorski

  2. Epidemiology Workforce Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Scientific Education and Professional Development, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Health, Wisconsin Division of Public Health, 1 West Wilson Street, Madison, WI, 53703, USA

    Debora Weiss & Henry A. Anderson

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  1. Kate E. Smith
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  2. Martin M. Shafer
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  3. Debora Weiss
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Correspondence to Kate E. Smith.

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The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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Smith, K.E., Shafer, M.M., Weiss, D. et al. High-Precision (MC-ICPMS) Isotope Ratio Analysis Reveals Contrasting Sources of Elevated Blood Lead Levels of an Adult with Retained Bullet Fragments, and of His Child, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Biol Trace Elem Res 177, 33–42 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-016-0872-3

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