This is considered one of the large-scale clusters of collective lead poisoning cases that the hospital has recorded recently.
On June 22, BS.CKII Nguyen Hoang Dung - Deputy Head of the Department of Occupational Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City Rehabilitation - Occupational Disease Treatment Hospital - said that the patients were detected during the occupational health check-up and have worked at the company for 5 to 10 years.
According to records, workers directly participate in stages with high risk of lead exposure such as casting electrode mesh, applying lead glue to the electrode mesh and welding and linking battery blades. These are locations that are frequently exposed to lead dust and lead oxide vapor arising in high-temperature environments.
Upon admission, most patients experience typical symptoms of chronic lead poisoning such as episodes of abdominal cramps, prolonged fatigue, loss of appetite, headache, dizziness and pale skin. In some severe cases, gray-black lead edges appear on the gums and gums.
Test results showed that the lead concentration in the blood of the patients all exceeded the safe threshold for workers. Among them, many cases had an index above 100 μg/dL, belonging to moderate to severe poisoning levels.
Notably, some workers have had peripheral neurological complications with manifestations of numbness in the extremities, reduced sensation, muscle weakness and affecting tinh motor ability. However, serious brain damage has not been recorded.
According to Dr. Nguyen Hoang Dung, lead poisoning often progresses silently. Initial signs such as fatigue, headache, loss of appetite are easily confused with work pressure or common diseases, causing workers to be subjective and miss early treatment opportunities.
Currently, patients are being treated with lead excretion drugs combined with supplementation of micronutrients such as calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin C, and at the same time undergoing physical therapy to restore nerve and muscle function. A treatment course usually lasts from 2 to 4 weeks depending on the degree of poisoning.
Doctors said that if detected early, patients can recover well after lead levels in the body decrease. Conversely, prolonged lead poisoning poses a risk of chronic kidney damage, cognitive decline, osteoporosis and affects fertility in men.
To date, the health of 15 workers has had positive changes, abdominal pain has decreased significantly and blood lead levels are gradually improving according to the treatment regimen.
From this incident, experts recommend that workers in the battery, metallurgy, paint, ceramics and occupations at risk of lead exposure should strictly comply with labor safety regulations, use full protective equipment and have periodic occupational health checks at least once a year to detect early risks of occupational diseases.
