Zinc protoporphyrin

Zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP) is a compound found in red blood cells that accumulates when heme production is inhibited by lead and/or lack of iron. It is formed when ferrochelatase is inhibited, leading to decreased production of porphobilinogen and accumulation of inactive hemoglobin molecules containing ZPP instead of heme. ZPP can be measured in a blood sample and is often used as a biomarker for lead exposure.From: Dictionary of Biomedical Science [2019], Quantitative Graph Theory [2019], Risk due to exposure to metallic elements in a birdshot factory [2018]

Metals in the workplace

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Published in Sue Reed, Dino Pisaniello, Geza Benke, Principles of Occupational Health & Hygiene, 2020

Ian Firth, Ron Capil

Measurement of pre-existing blood lead levels may be required by regulation before a worker begins a job where lead is a potential hazard. There are standards for the sampling and analysis of blood for lead, such as AS 2636 (Standards Australia, 1994), AS 2411 (Standards Australia, 1993a) and AS 4090 (Standards Australia, 1993b). Some other test indicators of the biological effect of lead, such as zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), can be used to supplement the basic blood-lead measurement, but they are not generally used in routine surveillance.

Risk due to exposure to metallic elements in a birdshot factory

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Journal Information

Published in Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 2018

Piero Lovreglio, Giovanni De Filippis, Brizio Tamborrino, Ignazio Drago, Rossana Rotondi, Annamaria Gallone, Matteo Paganelli, Pietro Apostoli, Leonardo Soleo

Before administering the questionnaire, a 5 ml venous blood sample was collected in lithium-heparin test tubes from the exposed workers and controls for the determination of blood lead (PbB) and erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZPP). For the exposed workers, the samples were taken on the Friday, before the start of the work shift, while for the controls they were taken on the Thursday between 8:00 and 9:00 in the morning. The blood samples were kept at +4°C until the time of analysis. For PbB, the determination was done by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, with a LOD of 0.4 µg/dL and coefficient of variation (CV) of 4%; values were expressed as µg/dL. The determination of ZPP was done with hematofluorimetry, the CV being 10%; values were expressed as µg/g Hb.

Zinc protoporphyrin

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Metals in the workplace

Risk due to exposure to metallic elements in a birdshot factory