Foreign workers’ blood higher in heavy metals than Korean counterparts

A consultation center for foreign workers in Korea.

Study finds several cases of lead concentration exceeding dangerous levels

The blood of foreign laborers in South Korea was found to be more heavily contaminated by heavy metals than their Korea-born counterparts at the same company. Such a situation supports the allegation that foreign laborers are exposed to more harmful working conditions.

The results come from a two-year study performed by researchers led by Dr. Yang Jeong-seon of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA) between 2005 and 2006. The research team will also announce the findings at a seminar held by the Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene on February 8-9.

The scientists examined 76 South Korean workers and 13 workers from Asian countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and China working at four companies that extract lead from the batteries of scrapped cars. According to the findings, the average concentration of lead in the blood of the foreign workers was 55.8 micrograms per deciliter, nearly double that of 28.9 ㎍/㎗ for the South Koreans tested.

In 10 out of the 13 foreigners examined, the figure was over 40㎍/㎗, meaning they are officially suffering from a work-related illness, while seven out of the eight laborers whose concentration of lead in their blood was more than 60㎍/㎗ were foreigners. Considering the fact that the average age of foreign workers was 29, 13 years younger than their South Korean counterparts, and their period of work in South Korea was less than a year on average, one-fifth the average working period of the South Korean laborers tested, it is likely that the foreigners have undergone more intense exposure to high-density lead, according to the study’s conclusions. There was no information available as to whether this lead buildup could have occurred outside of Korea prior to the laborers’ moving here for work, but according to the New York State Department of Health, lead stays in the bloodstream only about a month in adults, so it is most likely the workers were exposed to the harmful element in South Korea.

According to a summary of the study, which was submitted to the seminar by the researchers in advance, "Due to a short working period, none of those foreign workers have shown symptoms of lead poisoning, but unless corrected, the possibility is very high that they will show those symptoms soon." If it is excessively accumulated in the human body, lead can cause paralysis and brain disorders by destroying nerve and brain cells.

Dr. Yang said in a telephone interview on February 1, "South Korean workers are not exposed to poisonous materials after the workday, whereas most foreign laborers are exposed to those materials for a long time because they live in dormitories close to the worksites."

Please direct questions or comments to [[e-mail]]