Half of US adults exposed to harmful lead levels as kids

[JEEP]

Half of US adults exposed to harmful lead levels as kids​

Over 170 million U.S.-born people who were adults in 2015 were exposed to harmful levels of lead as children, a new study estimates.

Researchers used blood-lead level, census and leaded gasoline consumption data to examine how widespread early childhood lead exposure was in the country between 1940 and 2015.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, they estimated that half the U.S. adult population in 2015 had been exposed to lead levels surpassing five micrograms per deciliter - the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention threshold for harmful lead exposure at the time.

The scientists from Florida State University and Duke University also found that 90% of children born in the U.S. between 1950 and 1981 had blood-lead levels higher than the CDC threshold. And the researchers found significant impact on cognitive development: on average, early childhood exposure to lead resulted in a 2.6-point drop in IQ.

The researchers only examined lead exposure caused by leaded gasoline, the dominant form of exposure from the 1940s to the late 1980s, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Leaded gasoline for on-road vehicles was phased out starting in the 1970s, then finally banned in 1996.

Study lead author Michael McFarland, an associate professor of sociology at Florida State University, said the findings were "infuriating" because it was long known that lead exposure was harmful, based on anecdotal evidence of lead's health impacts throughout history.

The main thrust of this article is the drop in IQ from lead exposure. What has also been scientifically proven is that lead in the environment increases violence:

Childhood exposure to lead dust has been linked to lasting physical and behavioral effects, and now lead dust from vehicles using leaded gasoline has been linked to instances of aggravated assault two decades after exposure, according to researchers.

Lead dust is linked to violence, study suggests

Childhood exposure to lead dust has been linked to lasting physical and behavioral effects, and now lead dust from vehicles using leaded gasoline has been linked to instances of aggravated assault two decades after exposure, according to researchers.

www.sciencedaily.com

A Mother Jones article was most notable for exposing this. The following is from a 2020 article:

I can’t fool you guys. You know what I’m going to say, don’t you? A likely explanation for this is that in 2015, when this data was collected, 20-year-olds were born around 1995 and grew up lead free. This means they were far less likely to act out violently than in the past. Conversely, 40-year-olds were born around 1975, right near the peak of the lead poisoning epidemic. They are part of the most violent, explosive generation in US history.

This is the saddest part of lead poisoning: it scars your brain development as a child and there’s no cure. If you’re affected by it and are more aggressive and violent as a result, you will be that way for the rest of your life.

Lead poisoning and domestic violence

www.motherjones.com

Two more MJ articles from 2016 and 2018:

Lead: America's Real Criminal Element - Mother Jones​

An Updated Lead-Crime Roundup for 2018 - Mother Jones​

So absolutely proven that lead is horribly bad for people. Then you can imagine my surprise to find the following in my local newspaper:


So much for buying organic! And these products are still on the shelves for consumers to buy and feed to their children. Only a conspiracy theorist would read anything nefarious into this.

 

[Uperios]

Alarming Levels of Lead in Water and Soil From Buried Cables​

Story at a glance:
+ A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) investigation revealed a network of lead-covered cables across the U.S. leaching the heavy metal into the soil and water and raising lead levels well above EPA standards; roughly 330 are in a "source water protection area" designated
for drinking water
+ Originally installed by Bell Systems, the company was divided in 1984 as part of an antitrust lawsuit. The ensuing companies have denied ownership of the problem, denied the problem exists, denied it's a public health problem, abandoned the cables, or insisted
that are integral to providing service nationwide
+ After a 2021 lawsuit, AT&T agreed to clean up over 6 miles of lead cables from Lake Tahoe, which the company claims it no longer uses and is estimated to cost $1.5 million. However, cleanup has been repeatedly delayed for logistical issues
+ Health risks from lead exposure are multigenerational as lead changes DNA and may affect several generations; exposure is linked to 18% of all deaths and 28.7% of all heart deaths, but doctors do not routinely draw lead levels
+ Common sources of lead include drinking water, cigarette smoke, cheap household products and children's toys. Consider getting yourself and family tested for lead, test your water supply and use filtered cold water for drinking and cooking

 

[Kay Kim]

Study shows avocado leaves can help repair injuries in major organs

Multiple studies have shown that avocado leaves are full of beneficial nutrients. Research also suggests that avocado leaves are a promising natural therapeutic alternative for restoring damaged organs. Avocado leaf extract and phenolic compounds In a recent study, researchers found that avocado...

www.naturalhealth.news

Natural remedy for lead poisoning​

In another study, researchers discovered that avocado leaves can help treat lead poisoning in the brain and support tissue regeneration in the cerebellum.

Researchers observed animal subjects and found that after exposure to lead acetate, albino rats exhibited signs of aggression, inflammation and irritability.

However, their healing process improved significantly after the rats were given the avocado leaf extract. The topical application of the extract to wounds helped speed up recovery, resulting in complete healing after six days.

The avocado leaf extract also helped protect against lead acetate toxicity in the cerebellum.

Using microscopic examination of tissue samples, the researchers found that lead acetate caused considerable changes to the structure of the cerebellum, but the avocado leaf extract helped damaged tissues regenerate.

 

[Uperios]

Eye-Opening Study on the Widespread Danger of Lead Poisoning​

Story at a glance:

• A 2023 study quantified the global effects of lead poisoning, finding health effects are much greater than previously estimated
• In 2019 alone, lead exposure led to 765 million lost IQ points in children under 5 years along with 5.5 million deaths in adults due to cardiovascular disease
• The vast majority — including 729 million lost IQ points and 5 million cardiovascular disease deaths — occurred in low-income and middle-income countries
• The researchers calculated the global cost of lead exposure at $6 trillion in 2019, which amounted to 6.9% of the global gross domestic product
• A separate study also found that children worldwide are suffering from lead poisoning on a “massive and previously unknown scale,” with about 1 in 3 children having blood levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL)