Lead Poisoning by Herbert Needleman
Lead poisoning is a serious issue that the United States has taken many precautions in through policy and regulations. Needleman (2004) highlights the background of Lead and its toxic effects. The early history of lead colic was interesting for me. From the use of it's "sweet flavor" in wines sounds very dangerous in retrospect. This study primarily focuses on lead poisoning and toxicity in children, infant, and prenatal individuals. The toxicology of lead is due to its metallic properties such as being a divalent cation. This characteristic allows Lead to bind strongly to sulfhydryl proteins that are most prominent in the central nervous system. As a result, early lead exposure in children, infants, and prenatal individuals may cause symptoms such as encephalopathy, stupor, and convulsions. Needleman also points out that elevated lead levels were associated with reading disabilities, school failure, fine motor functions and lower class standings in high school.
Prevention was an intense focus in the 1970s. This lead to the EPA taking a hard stance on the removal from lead in gasoline, houses, and paint. This method has been extremely effective in it health as well as the economy. Needleman quoted in the study that the "benefit range for the 1998 cohort [due IQ-related increase in income and the estimated economic benefit] was between $110 billion and $319 billion.
An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in Nigeria
The environmental health response to the outbreak of lead poisoning in Nigeria is tragic to read about. Greater than 400 deaths in children less than 5 years old can be attributed to severe soil contamination from artisanal gold ore processing in residential areas. This health crisis was tragic and took a global effort to mediate. International agencies involved were the Joint United Nations Environment Program/Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Environment Unit and non-government organizations. The environmental and health response was to remove contaminated materials and to assist the local government to employ villagers to remediate homes with available equipment and materials. Children were also given chelation treatment.
It's astonishing that a chemical and its chemical makeup causes such harm to the body. The effect of lead poisoning on young children is even more tragic. It is incredibly impactful to show the world how this issue is addressed by a country and share knowledge and best practices in order to prevent harmful exposures in other parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteAgain, the U.S. really needs to protect its citizens more and be proactive in removing all remaining lead-contaminating threats. It is sickening to know that children are still affected by lead.
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