µg/dL could trigger high blood pressure and eventually cause cardiovascular disease.
Federal regulators have repeatedly claimed that actual daily food exposure to lead and other metals is much lower, but without tests on specific foods and production lots, how would the average individual gauge the threat from this toxin, particularly as data have shown significant harm from the bioaccumulation of this heavy metal over time?
Rare in nature, most prevalent in its inorganic form
Though it comes in organic and inorganic forms, lead is rare in nature and it is mostly the inorganic form of lead that continues to proliferate, contaminating everything with which it comes in contact. The use of leaded gasoline began being phased out in 1973, but it was not entirely banned for sale until the U.S. Clean Air Act went into full force in 1996. Although no longer allowed in formulations after 1978, lead dust from lead-based paint decay continues to be a danger in older homes, especially to growing infants and toddlers who like to crawl around on the floor. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission lists over 3,400 documents regarding the regulations and recalls of lead-contaminated items, including toys, electronics, clothing, and medicines.188
Lead was not officially banned in toys in America until 2008, when the U.S. Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) following a series of high-publicity recall cases on toys and baby products found to contain dangerously high amounts of the heavy metal. Mattel Inc., the parent company of Fisher-Price, was forced to recall nearly 20 million toys worldwide including 9.5 million in the United States back in 2007. Of the two recalls announced in a two-week period, the first involved 1.5 million toys marketed to preschool-aged children. Manufactured in China, where roughly 80 percent of the world’s toys are made, Mattel’s toys were pulled from store shelves due in part to the discovery of lead-based paints that could flake off and cause harm. Considering that preschoolers like to put things in their mouths, the potential for lead poisoning went well beyond a toddler merely touching a leaded item.
Still, even today, researchers and watchdog groups continue to find lead well above regulatory levels lurking in consumer goods. For other products that come into contact with a consumer’s skin and mucous membranes, the FDA may or may not have set an allowable lead limit. For example, the agency has not set a limit on lead in cosmetics,189 but has established a maximum threshold for the color dyes used in cosmetics, which the FDA regulates to 20 parts per million lead.
Studies continue to show that, even though not directly ingested in large amounts, repeated daily application of lead-containing cosmetics can add up to significant and cumulatively dangerous exposure.190 The FDA commissioned a study of lead in popular U.S. cosmetics in 2010 and found that, of over 400 lipsticks, including samples of the most popular brands purchased at retail stores, every single one contained lead—all of them.191
Developmental impairment as neurotoxin
Science has already confirmed a link between neuropsychological damage during development in early childhood and the intake of low levels of lead through chronic exposure. Brain and nervous system damage caused by lead poisoning can disrupt a child’s actual learning ability, and it can cause behavioral issues such as hyperactivity and aggression. Lead crosses the placenta, harming the brains of unborn children in the womb, and it has been directly linked with lowered IQ scores throughout life.
Researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation conducted a survey of seven year olds and lead exposure, which showed an average decrease of four to five IQ points when raised blood lead measurements were recorded between fifteen months and four years of age.192 A 2013 study found that children who sustained lead poisoning and presented with blood lead levels of greater than 10 but less than 20 µg/dL before age three did significantly worse on end-of-grade elementary school exams than children with lower blood lead levels.193 Researchers have also concluded that lead exposure both before and after birth can cause significant memory impairment.194
Lead has, of course, been found to be a neurotoxin in adults as well. Elevated bone lead levels in the elderly have been associated with dementia and other negative mental health issues.195 In a fifteen-year study on the effects of lead in the adult brain, researchers concluded that past exposure to lead may actually be attributable to a significant amount of what the medical profession generally considers “normal” age-related cognitive decline.196
Contributions to cardiovascular disease, the world’s leading killer, and more
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
