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Lead's Dangerous Legacy

WHEN IT COMES TO FIGHTING CRIME, COULD ONE SOLUTION BE TO GET THE LEAD OUT?  LEARN ABOUT THE LINK BETWEEN LEAD POISONING AND DELINQUENT BEHAVIOR ON TODAY’S ENVIRONMINUTE.   

LEAD EXPOSURE, EVEN IN SMALL DOSES, CAN TRANSFORM A CHILD’S DEVELOPING BRAIN.  MANY STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT LEAD POISONING CAN REDUCE INTELLIGENCE, ATTENTION SPAN, AND IMPULSE CONTROL. NOW THEY LINK IT TO REBELLIOUS AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR, TOO.

SO COULD CHILDHOOD LEAD POISONING BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DILEMMAS SUCH AS HIGH DROPOUT RATES AND DELINQUENCY? SCIENTISTS SAY THERE IS A CONNECTION, BUT BEWARE OF OVER-INTERPRETING THE DATA: LEAD IS OVERWHELMINGLY FOUND IN POOR NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE COUNTLESS OTHER SOCIAL PROBLEMS EXIST.

SO WHILE LEAD POISONING IS JUST ONE OF MANY FACTORS THAT CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THESE COMPLEX ISSUES, STUDIES SHOW IT IS AN ISSUE WE CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE.

THE ENVIRONMINUTE IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE HEINZ FAMILY PHILANTHROPIES AND THE HEINZ ENDOWMENTS.  LEARN MORE BY

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

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