Assessment of Symptoms Associated with Exposure to Lead among Roadside Battery Technicians in Ilorin-West LGA, Kwara State

Lead is a heavy metal known for both its usefulness and detrimental effects on human health. Despite enormous research on various risks posed by lead to human health, the assessment of symptoms associated with exposure to lead, especially among roadside battery technicians in spite of their contribution to nation-building, has remained understudied. This current study was undertaken to fill the gap. The study therefore aimed at assessing the symptoms associated with lead exposure among roadside battery technicians in Ilorin-West, Kwara. A structured questionnaire was administered to 107 battery technicians and 58 control group for data collection, while 5 mL blood samples were collected into an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant bottle aseptically for lead assay. The study estimated blood lead level using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (A.A.S). The data were examined using SPSS software version 25.0. An independent-samples t-test and Fisher's exact test were utilized for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. P-values less than 0.05 were deemed significant. Results indicated that a significant majority (81%) of the participants had elevated blood lead levels, with over half (52%) classified as severely elevated, highlighting a major health concern among the population studied. Only a small fraction (19%) fell within the normal range, indicating widespread lead exposure. The study found a significantly higher blood lead level among roadside battery technicians (47.0 ± 35.78 µg/dL) compared to the control group (1.28 ± 0.89 µg/dL, p = 0.000). Findings further revealed that 60% significantly higher percentage of battery technicians had one or more lead exposure symptoms such as headache, dizziness and fatigue, among others. The study concluded that early detection and treatment of symptoms associated to blood lead exposure are essential to enjoy a robust state of health. It recommended that roadside battery technicians in Ilorin should prioritize the regular use of personal protective equipment.