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. 2022 May;32(3):451-460.
doi: 10.1038/s41370-022-00431-y. Epub 2022 May 2.

Investigating aluminum cookpots as a source of lead exposure in Afghan refugee children resettled in the United States

Katie M Fellows  1 , Shar Samy  2 , Yoni Rodriguez  1   2 , Stephen G Whittaker  3
Affiliations

Investigating aluminum cookpots as a source of lead exposure in Afghan refugee children resettled in the United States

Katie M Fellows et al. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2022 May.

Abstract

Background: Afghan refugee children resettled in Washington State have the highest prevalence of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) of any other refugee or immigrant population. Resettled families brought several lead-containing items with them from Afghanistan, including aluminum cookpots.

Objectives: To evaluate the potential contribution of lead-containing cookpots to elevated BLLs in Afghan children and determine whether safer alternative cookware is available.

Methods: We screened 40 aluminum cookpots for lead content using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer and used a leachate method to estimate the amount of lead that migrates into food. We also tested five stainless steel cookpots to determine whether they would be safer alternatives.

Results: Many aluminum cookpots contained lead in excess of 100 parts per million (ppm), with a highest detected concentration of 66,374 ppm. Many also leached sufficient lead under simulated cooking and storage conditions to exceed recommended dietary limits. One pressure cooker leached sufficient lead to exceed the childhood limit by 650-fold. In contrast, stainless steel cookpots leached much lower levels of lead.

Significance: Aluminum cookpots used by refugee families are likely associated with elevated BLLs in local Afghan children. However, this investigation revealed that other U.S. residents, including adults and children, are also at risk of poisoning by lead and other toxic metals from some imported aluminum cookpots.

Impact statement: Some aluminum cookware brought from Afghanistan by resettled families as well as cookpots available for purchase in the United States represent a previously unrecognized source of lead exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Example XRF testing locations on an aluminum Afghan pressure cooker (Pot #49).
Top left: Labeled pressure cooker body. Bottom left: Labeled base. Top right: Labeled outer surface of lid. Bottom right: Labeled inner surface of lid.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Example XRF testing locations on a typical aluminum cookpot (Pot #11).
Upper left: Labeled body of cookpot. Lower left: Labeled inner surface of lid. Upper right: Labeled outer surface of lid. Bottom right: Labeled inner surface of cookpot.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Lid of a traditional Afghan pressure cooker (Pot #48).
Top: Inner surface of pressure cooker lid. Bottom: Outer surface of pressure cooker lid.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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