Lead Poisoning In Children Essay

(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).

In this day and age consumers always want more and they want it at the lowest price possible, but are they willing to risk the danger that could derive from it? Hundreds of thousands of toys are imported daily from overseas countries, such as China, into the United States, some toys are inspected for irregularities, but most are not. This may not seem like such a problem but the truth of the matter is that it is one of the larger problems in the nation right now. Children’s toys imported from China are found to be contaminated with high levels of lead and infecting American children with lead poisoning. Some people may say that this is an unnecessary argument, that China isn’t doing anything harmful, maybe it was just a few faulty toys,

Lead poisoning has been a concern for many years. In fact, because of the affects of lead poisoning, there has been an extensive decline in its use. "Many people believe lead poisoning is no longer a threat, yet millions of homes contain lead based paint" (Heck, J., 2005, para. 1). Exposure to lead at any level is unhealthy, especially in infants, children, and pregnant women and continues to be an ongoing dilemma in this country. I read two articles concerning lead poisoning; the first article is from FineTuning, a popular press and the second article is from Pediatrics, a peer-review journal. In this paper, I will clearly summarize each article by comparing the content of both articles. In addition, I will summarize the attention to

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 population addressed in this paper focuses mainly on the minority of African American/Black Children who have experienced lead poisoning in the United States of America in the state of Michigan. Within Michigan there will be review of Genesee county, which will be compared with the city of Flint, MI, a city located in Genesee county.

Imagine you're drinking a cup of water and every single drop is poison. This could be happening to you. 50% of the United States have lead in their drinking water. This is because of lead based pipes. Lead based pipes have been leaching lead into water which connects to drinking water. It can also be because of the state's water utilities that might have lead in their water. ( EPA's safe drinking water information system database reports, three, 2016 by Isabella DC, USA Today) says Lead can cause brain damage, cancer, seizures, hearing loss, learning disabilities, and more!

The major sources of lead here were gasoline, paint chips and water from old plumbing. After lead was removed from gasoline and paint, blood lead levels (BLL) in children decreased on average from 16 mcg/dL to less than 3 mcg/dL. Residual lead persists in the environment, however. A toxic level is currently defined as 5 mcg/dL. In U.S. children age 1-5, the prevalence of BLLs >10 mcg/dL decreased from 88% to 4.4% between 1976 and 1994 and further dropped to 0.8% by 2010. Yet there are still almost half a million children in the U.S. with levels >5

What are some of the effects of the crisis? For any adult, lead poisoning can cause kidney problems, fatigue, lethargy, depression, and slower reaction time. However, adults require a higher level of lead in the blood to produce those effects. For pregnant women lead poisoning can can cause miscarriages and future health problems in a developing fetus. What about children? For children, lead poisoning affects the development of children's brains and nervous systems.

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

Everyone is susceptible to the dangers of lead contamination; but children are especially at risk. High levels of lead in children can lead to brain and kidney damage and damage to red blood cells. Low levels of lead can also cause problems that are less life-threatening but can be just as devastating, like low IQ, hearing and language impairment, reduced attention span and poor school performance. In adults, exposure to lead can lead to an increased risk for high blood pressure. Pregnant women and their fetuses are extremely vulnerable to lead. In women, lead increases the risk of infertility and miscarriages; in fetuses, lead can cause low birth weight, premature birth and impaired mental and physical development.

There are multiple reasons to expect that a person's lead exposure as a child could affect

According to the Mayo clinic, lead poisoning is most susceptible to children under the age of six. Early estimates indicate that as many as 8,000 children could have been given the drinking water. High levels of lead according to the Clinic’s report “can severely affect mental and physical development… [and] lead poisoning can be fatal.”

These same symptoms were seen in Carlos’ story in chapter 3 of Families in Poverty by Karen Seccombe. Carlos, like many other children in poverty, is living in a run-down apartment because it is all they can afford. As a toddler, Carlos ingested lead paint that was near his crib which lead to elevated blood lead levels. This led Carlos to develop hearing loss, stunted growth, and the inability to focus and concentrate in school. Due to lack of health insurance, Carlos avoids going to the doctor when he is feeling sick. The chapter also mentions Trocorra Nicholson, whose son has lead poisoning. Although, Trocorra knows the trailer that they live in caused her son’s illness, Trocorra cannot move out. This same predicament is mentioned in the article, with parents knowing that their housing situation is poisoning their child but feeling as though they cannot fix

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).

Lead poisoning is one of the global burden and need to be focused a lot on preventive strategies.