Pros And Cons Of PA-Tests

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

(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).

The author further goes on to explain what is being done about lead poisoning, and finally explaining how to know for sure if a person has lead poisoning and how to have your home tested for lead poisoning. The author pays great attention to detail by providing facts to support the information provided in the article. For example, the author states, "75% of houses and other buildings built before 1978 have lead-based paint. When the paint is in good condition it does not pose a threat. When it chips and peels however, it can make a child very ill" (Heck, Where does lead come from section, para. 1). This article clearly achieves its purpose, which is to inform the public about prevalence of lead and the ongoing risks associated with lead poisoning. This article is not about one specific case of lead poisoning, which is evident because the author talks about the history of lead use and the laws relating to lead use in this country.

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.

According to ( Compton's by Britannica, 2011, SIRS discover) Lead is found in tap water and other water sources which is toxic metal

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

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.

Children started loosing their hair or developing rashes on their bodies. According to Mark Peplow, lead “levels of around 400µg/l” (1 microgram per Liter or 1.0 × 10-6 kg per m3) were found in some residents’ tap water (Peplow 4). This, of course, prompted the intervention of the Virginia Tech research team. Peplow continues, “In September 2015, pediatrician Mona Hanna-Attisha of Michigan State University analysed [sic] the results of infant blood tests, and found that the proportion of children with elevated lead levels in Flint had doubled from 2% to 4.1% since the change in water supply. After a week of denials, the state admitted that her analysis was

The water in Flint is placing people in peril because the water is accumulating with lead. Lead is a type of chemical element in the carbon group. Lead is a soft and heavy post - transition metal. If lead accumulates in your body you could sustain death or lead poisoning. Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body often over a period of months or years. Even small amounts of lead can cause perpetual health problem. Children under the age of six are vulnerable to lead poisoning and possibility death.

Children under six years old are very easily affected to the effects of lead. Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in: behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing Problems and anemia; lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. For pregnant women, during pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium and is used to help form the bones of the fetus. This is particularly true if a woman does not have enough dietary calcium. Lead can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus the lead. So lead can cause serious effects to the mother and her developing fetus, including: reduced growth of the fetus and premature birth. And for other adults, lead can also be harmful, it can cause cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems in both men and

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.”

Lead is poisonous because once it enters your body it can form into other atoms like zinc and iron fooling the body into thinking they are there and not carrying out the vital functions they need. Lead atoms can also block neurotransmitters. In the 1920s there was essentially a lead "boom" and marketers began putting lead in everything including shoes, lightbulbs, and leaded gasoline, advertising that it was safe and even kid friendly (in some items) when it wasn't. The lead levels in the factories became so bad that the workers were becoming sick, hallucinating, going mad, and dying from being poisoned by lead. Scientist Robert Kehoe was hired by GM to "cover up" the lead threats saying the amount of lead was a naturally occurring. No one cared about the use of leaded gasoline and other leaded materials until Clair Patterson began to dig deeper into the research of lead in the

The improved screening and treatment of lead poisoning decreased the severity of symptoms usually seen. However, the level of lead in the blood does not establish what symptoms are seen, since lead in blood only establishes current exposure. Recently, studies have shown that a long exposure to low amounts of lead may have severe neurobehavioral effects that are not diagnosed until the child enters school (Singhal et. al., 1980).

Lead, a naturally occurring metal and can be used in almost everything. It can cause serious health issues if it is exposed for a long time, particularly in children as they are more susceptible to absorbing and retaining lead in their bodies. Each year, in the United States 310,000 of 1- to 5-year age group are found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, which can cause a wide range of symptoms. (1)

* Lead. Lead is hazardous to health as it accumulates in the body and affects the central nervous system. Children and pregnant women are most at risk.