Listen to the podcast.

Lead's Dangerous Legacy

Researchers have known for decades that exposure to lead can cause serious damage to children’s brains. But in recent years, studies have shown that lead poisoning may have a domino effect on society.

Some studies now point to a link between lead poisoning and violent behavior, and researchers are in the process of trying to clarify just how the this heavy metal might be influencing a person’s potential to engage in criminal acts. The issue is complicated by the fact that low-income neighborhoods, where lead poisoning levels are highest, are also beset by numerous other social problems that can lead to violence.

But evidence linking behavioral problems to lead exposure is mounting. Studies have found that adolescents with high blood lead levels are more likely to engage in bullying and other delinquent behavior; that prison inmates who have engaged in violence are more likely than the general prison population to carry high levels of lead and other toxic metals in their bodies; and that counties with high lead pollution rates had homicide rates four times as high as less-polluted counties. What’s more, a study that tracked reductions in lead content in gasoline found a corresponding drop in violent crime as states shifted to unleaded gasoline.

Clearly, exposure to lead is harmful to children. Numerous studies have revealed a clear association between lead exposure and cognitive difficulties, such as lowered IQ, lack of impulse control and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. There are no safe exposure levels to this contaminant, so even the smallest amounts – found in soil and paint chips, for example – can cause damage to children. Whether they also damage society as a whole will become clearer as research continues.

For more information about this story, please click here.

For more information about lead poisoning, go to http://www.epa.gov/lead/.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org