M9.4 - Heavy Metals

The lead poisoning article was informative of facts I haven't heard of before. It's crazy that people in Rome had gotten sick and called it lead colic because of the lead in wine as far back as the second century B.C. People, especially children need to be protected from lead toxicity because of how dangerous it is to the central nervous system as well as how much it affects behavior. It's great that it was removed from gasoline and that it reduced blood levels in the U.S. significantly, but now it needs to be addressed in the leaded paint in older homes.

The article on the lead poisoning in Nigeria relates to the class discussion we had about soil contamination. I'm glad that there were humanitarian efforts to have a emergency health and environmental response to this outbreak. I feel that there should be more of these programs across the U.S. and world not only with lead but with other harmful toxins that take the same approach in providing exposure reduction, building local, state, and national capacity to respond to health crises, and ensure environmental remedies that would be sustained afterwards.

Comments

  1. Angela GNovember 4, 2018 at 7:56 PM

    Hi Matt,
    Yes, I was also surprised to learn about the possibility of lead having contributed to the sickness in Rome! I agree with you about having more US programs in regards to education, prevention, and crises response. Thank you Matt! I also appreciate the pictures you include on your blog.

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