Lead Poisoning
-I did not know that the ancient Romans used lead as a sweetener. They used it to counteract the astringent flavor of tannic acid in grapes. I would believe that the decrease in fertility and increase in psychosis due to lead poisoning was associated to the fall of Rome.
- Childhood lead poisoning was first described in the United States in 1914 in which it was thought to have two outcomes: death of recovery without residua. It is interesting to find out that in 1943, children were found to have significant deficits following lead poisoning such as behavioral disorders and learning difficulties. This is due to the leads impact on the central nervous system.
-Another interesting point the article addresses is the cost it took to eliminate the homes with lead-based paint. Although lead-based paint was banned in 1971, 80% of homes built before 1980 contained leaded paint. The estimated cost of abatement in those homes over a 20 year period were $33.7 billion.
An environmental Health response to a Severe Outbreak of Childhood lead Poisoning in Nigeria
This short article dramatically showed the catastrophic effects of lead poisoning. More than 400 children under the age of 5 died from lead poisoning.
The only promising aspect of this article was how international agencies and NGO's were able to come together to address this preventable health issue. With the help of these organizations, the Nigerian village was able to reduce exposure, build local, state, and national capacity to respond to health crises, and ensure environmental remedies would be sustained with safer mining practices.
I was also surprised to learn that lead was used in wine to mask the acid flavor of grapes. At that time, lead poisoning was apparently common among Roman wine drinkers. Today it is mainly from occupational origin. Unfortunately, lead poisoning is still a problem especially among children as old houses contain lead-based paint. The other recent incident was the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, where residents were exposed to lead in drinking water, and many children have suffered the devastating health consequences.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard about lead poisoning, but I never bother to learn the effects that lead contamination has on children. It's alarming that many individual are exposed to leads, specially in incidents like Flint. Our government needs to set more regulations to protect our more vulnerable populations. We have seen an increase in learning disabilities in children, and knowing that lead contamination is still a problem today, we need to find solutions to the issue.
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