Analysis of heavy metal exposure in the air and blood lead level concentration of city bus drivers in surabaya

The increase of motorized vehicles In Indonesia amounted 114,209,360 units throughout the country in 2015 which was a 15% increase from the total number in 2016. Despite showing a good economic growth it also poses some negative impacts. Road accident is the third leading cause of death in Indonesia. The most number of casualties losses suffered is mostly caused by road accidents involving buses. The increase of vehicle also caused high pollution such as lead (Pb) especially in metropolitan cities those who are prone to this are the people working every day on the roads. This research examined lead (Pb) levels in the air on 5 traffic congestion points in Surabaya in the blood with 11 Surabaya city bus drivers as the samples. The measurement of lead (Pb) levels in the air in the blood applied AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer) method. The measurement of Pb levels in the air was conducted 3 times for each traffic congestion point. For blood lead level the measurement was only conducted 1 time in the afternoon after the bus drivers completed their activities. Age daily smoking frequencies were the measured variables suspected to affect the lead concentration on the blood. The research result showed that the highest Pb concentration in the air was found to be consistent in the afternoon at five traffic congestion points while the data of blood lead level examination revealed that 8 out of 11 city bus drivers had high Pb concentration on their blood which exceeded the allowed threshold point.