ArticleEnvironmental science and pollution research international2026
Maternal blood lead levels and proximity to legacy mining contamination in Kabwe, Zambia: socioeconomic disparities and potential implications on fetal health.
Article in Environmental science and pollution research international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Legacy lead (Pb) contamination from a century-long Pb-Zn mining operation (1906-1994) continues to pose severe environmental health threats in Kabwe, Zambia, one of the world's most polluted sites. While elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children are well-documented, maternal exposure remains understudied despite its critical implications for fetal development. We conducted a cross-sectional biomonitoring study among 510 pregnant women across four townships in Kabwe (Makululu, Kasanda, Katondo, and Mahatma Gandhi), stratified by proximity to the former mine (1.5-4.5 km). Sociodemographic and clinical data were collected utilizing a structured questionnaire. Venous blood samples were analyzed for Pb using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GFAAS), with rigorous quality control (recovery: 92.3-95.1%; MDL: 0.012 µg/dL). Maternal BLLs varied significantly by township (p < 0.001): median BLLs were highest in Makululu (6.5 µg/dL; 84.4% elevated), followed by Kasanda (3.4 µg/dL; 48.1%), and lowest in Katondo (1.8 µg/dL; 10.0%) and Mahatma Gandhi (1.6 µg/dL; 8.8%). Overall, 43.7% of women exceeded the reference level of 3.5 µg/dL, disproportionately affecting those in the informal settlements near the mine waste. Elevated BLLs were significantly associated with longer years of stay in the area (p = 0.007), unemployment (p < 0.001), smoking (p = 0.021), lower BMI (p = 0.023), and higher gravidity (p < 0.001), reflecting intersecting environmental, biological and socioeconomic vulnerabilities. Maternal Pb exposure in Kabwe remains alarmingly high, especially in mining-proximal, low-resource communities, underscoring a critical environmental injustice. Given potential for Pb to cross the placenta and documented links to negative birth outcomes, urgent interventions, including regular maternal screening and policy reform, are needed to potentially protect the health of the unborn baby and break cycles of intergenerational toxicity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.