TY - JOUR
T1 - Lead Poisoning in an Art Conservator
AU - Fischbein, Alf
AU - Wallace, Joyce
AU - Anderson, Karl E.
AU - Sassa, Shigeru
AU - Kon, Steven
AU - Rohl, Arthur N.
AU - Kappas, Attallah
PY - 1982/4/9
Y1 - 1982/4/9
N2 - A case of lead poisoning in a female art conservator is reported. The patient had experienced excessive lead exposure while restoring an antique Peruvian tapestry from the Chancay period (1000 to 1500 AD) using a powdered pigment (cinnabar), which had been recovered from the same tomb in which the tapestry was found. Over two months, prominent neurological, gastrointestinal, and diffuse muscular symptoms developed. Severe anemia accompanied by basophilic stippling of RBCs led to the diagnosis of lead poisoning, which was confirmed by markedly elevated blood lead levels (up to 130 μg/dL) and impairment of heme synthetic enzymes. The severity of the intoxication necessitated chelation therapy. Chemical analysis of the antique powdered pigment showed it to be the source of lead exposure, in that it contained about 1% lead.
AB - A case of lead poisoning in a female art conservator is reported. The patient had experienced excessive lead exposure while restoring an antique Peruvian tapestry from the Chancay period (1000 to 1500 AD) using a powdered pigment (cinnabar), which had been recovered from the same tomb in which the tapestry was found. Over two months, prominent neurological, gastrointestinal, and diffuse muscular symptoms developed. Severe anemia accompanied by basophilic stippling of RBCs led to the diagnosis of lead poisoning, which was confirmed by markedly elevated blood lead levels (up to 130 μg/dL) and impairment of heme synthetic enzymes. The severity of the intoxication necessitated chelation therapy. Chemical analysis of the antique powdered pigment showed it to be the source of lead exposure, in that it contained about 1% lead.
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U2 - 10.1001/jama.1982.03320390069049
DO - 10.1001/jama.1982.03320390069049
M3 - Article
C2 - 7062508
AN - SCOPUS:84944369577
SN - 0098-7484
VL - 247
SP - 2007
EP - 2009
JO - JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
JF - JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association
IS - 14
ER -