According to a new report from UNICEF and the non-profit Pure Earth, around 1 in 3 children (up to 800 million globally) are poisoned by lead, a potent neurotoxin that can cause irreparable damage to the brain. Long recognized as a health hazard, the problem of lead contamination is particularly acute in low and lower-middle-income countries where safeguards for industrial waste and pollution are weak or poorly enforced.
“With few early symptoms, lead silently wreaks havoc on children’s health and development, with possibly fatal consequences”, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore warned. “Knowing how widespread lead pollution is and understanding the destruction it causes to individual lives and communities, urgent action is required to protect children once and for all.” According to the World Health Organization, there is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects. Even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems, and at high levels, it can be fatal.
The report is named as ‘The Toxic Truth: Children’s exposure to lead pollution undermines a generation of potential’ is an analysis of childhood lead exposure undertaken by the Institute of Health Metrics Evaluation and verified with a study approved for publication in Environmental Health Perspectives. The report mentions that lead is particularly destructive to babies and children under the age of five as it damages their brain before they have had the opportunity to fully develop, causing them lifelong neurological, cognitive and physical impairment. Children with blood levels of five µg / dL were found to score three to five points lower on intelligence tests, compared to their counterparts who did not have such elevated levels. A meta-analysis of lead levels in the blood of Indian children showed they could lose four intelligence quotient points each because of lead exposure, said the report.
The main causes for environmental contamination are mining, smelting, manufacturing and poor recycling practices for lead-acid batteries; other sources of exposure include continued use of leaded water pipes in homes, lead-based paint and leaded gasoline. Parents whose occupations involve working with the lead often bring contaminated dust home on their clothes, hair, hands and shoes, inadvertently exposing their children.
The UNICEF/Pure Earth report calls for tighter regulations and an end to lead smelting and other practices. It calls on governments in affected countries to take a coordinated approach to building monitoring and reporting systems, and to installing prevention and control measures. The new legislation is needed to enforce environmental, health and safety standards for lead-acid battery manufacturing and recycling sites. Continuous public awareness campaigns targeted at parents, schools, community leaders and health care workers are needed.
