'Safe' lead levels harm children

[steven johnson]

The EPA recently recommended that pregnant women not use lipstick because of the unexpectedly high levels of lead. It was ten times higher than the EPA standard for candy. Lead causes heart disease, learning diabilities, anemia and sterility in men.

Now they are finding evidence of intellectual damage in children at much lower lead levels than were previously estimated.

Lead intoxication is thought to have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire. The most significant source of lead poisoning among the Roman upper classes was wine. , They Romans added a syrup of concentrated grape juice to wine to sweeten it. Unfortunately, the syrup was concentrated by boiling in lead containers. Autopsies of the corpses of ancient Romans have revealed unusually high quantities of lead in their bodies. It is estimated that Romans had 50 mcg/dL in their blood. In adults there is brain and kidney damage with blood lead levels of 100 µg/dL; gastrointestinal symptoms such as colic, with levels of approximately 60 µg/dL; anemia with levels of 50 to 80 µg/dL; neurological symptoms with levels of 40 to 60 µg/dL; depressed sperm count with levels of 40 to 50 µg/dL; and increased risk of preterm delivery, low birthweight, and impaired mental development with maternal blood lead levels of 10 to 15 µg/dL. Children are much more sensitive.

FDA Study: Lead Levels in Lipstick Much Higher Than Previously Reported

High levels of lead in bone hard on the heart

Lead and Lead Poisoning from Antiquity to Modern Times

Toxicology: Lead Among the Romans

Young children's exposure to lead in the environment is harming their intellectual and emotional development, according to UK researchers.

The researchers say the toxic effects of lead on the central nervous system are obvious even below the current so-called safe level of lead in the blood.

With lead levels up to five microgrammes per decilitre, there was no obvious effect.

But lead levels between five and 10 microgrammes per decilitre were associated with significantly poorer scores for reading ( 49% lower) and writing (51% lower). A doubling in lead blood levels to 10 microgrammes per decilitre was associated with a drop of a third of a grade in their Scholastic Assessment Tests (SATs).

'Safe' lead levels harm children

[obliviously]

1. Life harms children!