Lead Pollution in Israel

Abstract

The lead content of petrol used in Israel has been steadily decreasing over the past few years from 0.42 g/litre to 0.15 g/litre. Unleaded petrol has also been introduced. Blood lead levels measured in Israel suggest that some children may be above the 10 µg/dl threshold now considered to be hazardous. The lead contents of soils, food crops, water, and air in Israel are generally low compared with those in other developed countries, but measurements indicate that lead is still being added to surface soils. Further work in areas with heavy traffic shows that the reduced Pb level in petrol has so far not resulted in lower soil lead contents.