Heavy Metals

An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in Nigeria Casey Bartrem

Despite its brevity, this was a great article showing the importance of engaging multiple stakeholders when addressing public health issues in diverse communities. It also shows how demand of natural resources can alter the environment, many times affecting the most vulnerable populations such as low-income communities of color. The approach taken to address lead poisoning in children  living across these African villages called for input and support from local community leadership, local government, and NGOs. It is also a great example of how we don't always have to reinvent the wheel in public health. By using a previously developed US model that was adapted to local conditions, they were able to reduce lead exposure across these African villages. 

Lead Poisoning

Although we don't realize it, the phasing out of chemicals in our environment is a lengthy process that requires a lot of scientific proof. As time has passed, we've come to realize that exposure to lead in both adults and children is important to address, mostly because of its multiple adverse health outcomes. One of the most dangerous health effects would be the way in which lead attacks our central nervous system. Children are more sensitive to lead exposure for multiple reasons, including their hand-to-mouth activity, their developing central nervous system, and the increased ability of their gut to absorb this chemical

As we began to learn of lead's harmful health outcomes, we began to remove it from our surrounding environment in a stepwise fashion, removing it from one of the largest sources of exposure, gasoline. In a 20 year time period, the Center for Disease Control revised the accepted blood lead level from 60 ug/dl to 10 ug/dl. However, to this day a threshold for lead and neurobehavioral function has yet to be demonstrated, proving that even low doses of this heavy metal have adverse health outcomes. 

The most interesting finding has been lead's association to delinquency and alcohol consumption. Here we touch upon environmental racism, recognizing that communities of color have higher rates of both delinquency and alcohol consumption, which can be linked to their increased exposure to lead when compared to their wealthier counterparts.