Lead Poisoning: America Will Suffer Essay

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry says that lead exposure in children may cause comas, seizures, and death. Because a child’s brain is still developing, the damage of lead exposure is more severe. Not only does lead affect the way the brain physically develops, but lasting neurological and behavioral damage includes lower IQ scores, higher risk of attention deficit disorders and hearing impairments, decreases in impulse control, and potentially violent behavior. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician who runs the pediatric medical residency program at Flint’s Hurley Medical Center, studied blood lead level tests and found that the percentage of children with elevated blood lead levels had gone from 2.4 percent to 4.9 percent citywide (Barry-Jester). Hanna-Attisha’s findings showed a rise to sixteen percent in neighborhoods where lead levels were known to be elevated in the water. She points out, "Lead only last in body a short time … and when you screen them, it's no longer elevated. So we've missed children's peak lead levels and that's why everyone says it

The biggest environment force affected Mattel recently has been legal and regulatory with the high levels of lead paint found in their die-cast toys in 2007. This issue created a voluntary recall from Mattel for over 2 million toys and created doubt in customers to the quality of their Mattel toys. Mattel responded by immediately implementing a check system to accept paint only from certified suppliers, tightened controls throughout the production process and testing every production run to ensure compliance. Mattel said that it is working in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and other regulatory agencies worldwide. Mattel is also working with retailers worldwide to identify and remove affected products from retail shelves.

(Campbell, 2016). Two giants in childhood lead poisoning research and advocacy, Dr. Philip Landrigan and Dr. David Bellinger, summarize the adverse effects of lead very completely, yet succinctly: “Lead is a devastating poison. It damages children’s brains, erodes intelligence, diminishes creativity and the ability to weigh consequences and make good decisions, impairs language skills, shortens attention span, and predisposes to hyperactive and aggressive behavior. Lead exposure in early childhood is linked to later increased risk for dyslexia and school failure.”(p. 3).

Potential lead contamination from drinking water presents a significant health risk. Recent examples of this lead contamination include Flint, Michigan, a city that experienced a large increase in the number of people, especially children, who exhibited symptoms of lead poisoning. A March 9, 2016 article in the Washington Post reported data from the Environmental Protection Agency that indicated approximately 350 schools and day-care centers across the US failed lead tests approximately 470 times between 2012 and 2015. Seven years ago, according to the Post, a study concluded that hundreds of young children in Washington, DC, had potentially damaging amounts of lead in their blood due to contamination in the city’s tap water. The toxin can cause permanent developmental and behavioral issues.

The issue that I will be focusing on for my paper will the high lead poisoning rates in L.A. county children. As a mother, I am always worried about angers my kids are exposed too. I know the lead problem in L.A. doesn’t get as much attention, as say, Flint, but it doesn’t mean the problem does not exist. We also have

At the age of just a year old, Reginald Cureton, a Detroit middle schooler, was just a year old, a blood test proved he had four times the level of lead in his blood that was concluded as lead poisoning. His parents were baffled and doctors said it would alter his brain development and hinder his skills as a child. Reginald's elementary school suggested numerous times that he repeat the third grade. This lead his parents to do test him for any mental stagnancies and he was diagnosed with ADHD. Now in middle school, Reginald and his family's fight against lead- exposure is continued and as strong as ever as they are taking extra precautions to reduce his lead exposure in any way possible (Lead-Exposure Problems Spotlighted in Detroit) . Unfortunately

The amazing statistic that is offered by scorecard is that more than half of these are located in areas where people live below the poverty level. While ample information about Lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust in older buildings are widely advertised and addressed and pose the biggest risk to the lead poisoning in children, there are other sources of lead exposure. Such as in contaminated air, water and soil as well as batteries, home renovations, auto repair shops, and improper storage and disposal of lead containing products

Lead poisoning in children was first discovered in 1890 in Queensland, Australia. The lead source was not identified until 1904, when a researcher traced it to the paint used on railings and verandahs. The first discovery of lead poisoning in the United States (with a traceable source) was in 1914; the child had chewed the paint off of his crib. At this time they linked lead poisoning as a cause of convulsions in children. As research progressed and more children were found with high lead levels, symptoms caused by lead were expanded to include lead meningitis, acute encephalopathy, intellectual dullness, reduced consciousness, seizures, comas, and death (Chisholm, 1982).

Since the ban of lead based paint in residential homes, gasoline, and plumbing materials in 1978, numerous preventative measures have been put in place to protect children in the United States from exposure to high amounts of lead (Levin et al., 2008). As researchers and health care providers bring to light the many adverse health effects associated with chronic lead exposure, recent data suggests that there is no safe amount of lead a child can be exposed to. Yet while the regulations imposed have been significantly effective, elevated blood lead levels (EBLs) among U.S. children remain high. This literature review analyses whether lead poisoning is still a predominant threat to U.S. children by addressing the following

Epidemiological evidence has shown higher susceptibility of children to the adverse effects of lead exposure. The central and peripheral neurotoxicity of low-level long-term exposure to lead has a special relevance in children. To date, no safe lead-exposure threshold has been identified; however, neurophysiological studies in exposed subjects at low lead levels have showed that lead affects the central nervous system, particularly the developing brain and sensitivity and motor peripheral nerves. However, clinical studies on lead-induced neurotoxicity in children are limited and the existing have associated the effects of lead on the peripheral nerves with the current blood lead levels; as well as, they have a reduced sample size and only a few sensory and motor nerves has

In the united states, Lead poisoning seems to be one of the most common and preventable environmental problem in children. When compared to the US borne children, Prevelance of this poisoing is 1.6%high in refugee kids.(2)

Lead, when ingested or inhaled, is an extremely harmful substance – particularly to children under the age of six. Consequently, the manufacturing of toys with lead based paint is extremely dangerous. In 2007, Chinese manufacturing company Mattel was forced to recall 967,000 toys due to the use of lead paint, according to an article written by Louis Story in the New York Times. Regardless of lead’s ability to better maintain a toys appearance and longevity, lead is a serious health risk to children.

Lead poisoning relates to skin lesion, hair loss, vision loss, memory loss, depression, and anxiety. Many pediatricians found high levels of lead in children’s system. Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would

“Almost one in three toys in China contains heavy metals, with one in 10 containing excessive levels of lead, according to new research.”(Moore, 2011) The US has been importing Chinese-made toys for many years. There have been many recalls from large toy brands, such as Mattel, due to extremely high lead levels. These toys are very dangerous to children. However, Chinese-made toys are cheaper than US-made toys. There are two sides to this problem.

To please the public the industry also said they would conduct research about the effects of lead, but the research was funded by the lead industry so they skewed the presentation of the results to the public. Soon there were also cases reported of lead poisoning in children from their habit of biting lead-painted toys. This time the lead industry tried to distract the public by increasing their advertisements highlighting the benefits of lead using the mascot of the Dutch Boy Painter and slogans, such as “ethyl is to gasoline what vitamins are to food.” However, by the 1970’s with the introduction of safer elements and the decrease in public support, the lead industry lost its importance in the world.