TY - JOUR
T1 - The pediatric burden of disease from lead exposure at toxic waste sites in low and middle income countries
AU - Chatham-Stephens, Kevin
AU - Caravanos, Jack
AU - Ericson, Bret
AU - Landrigan, Philip
AU - Fuller, Richard
N1 - Funding Information:
The Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) is implemented jointly with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, and has been funded in part by the European Commission, Green Cross Switzerland, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank. The agencies that helped fund the TSIP had no role in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.
PY - 2014/7
Y1 - 2014/7
N2 - Background: The impact of lead from toxic waste sites on children in low and middle income countries has not been calculated due to a lack of exposure data. We sought to calculate this impact in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Materials and methods: Using an Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model, we converted soil and drinking water lead levels from sites in the Blacksmith Institute[U+05F3]s Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) into mean blood lead levels (BLLs). We then calculated the incidence of mild mental retardation (MMR) and DALYs resulting from these BLLs. Results: The TSIP included 200 sites in 31 countries with soil (n=132) or drinking water (n=68) lead levels, representing 779,989 children younger than 4 years of age potentially exposed to lead. Environmental lead levels produced a range of BLLs from 1.56 to 104.71. μg/dL. These BLLs equated to an estimated loss of 5.41-8.23 IQ points, resulting in an incidence of MMR of 6.03 per 1000 population and 76.1 DALYs per 1000 population. Discussion: Soil and water lead levels at toxic waste sites predict BLLs that lower the intelligence quotient (IQ), with the resulting MMR potentially limiting individual- and country-level development. The preventable burden of disease produced by these sites highlights the need for toxic waste sites to be systematically identified, evaluated, and remediated.
AB - Background: The impact of lead from toxic waste sites on children in low and middle income countries has not been calculated due to a lack of exposure data. We sought to calculate this impact in Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). Materials and methods: Using an Integrated Exposure Uptake Biokinetic (IEUBK) model, we converted soil and drinking water lead levels from sites in the Blacksmith Institute[U+05F3]s Toxic Sites Identification Program (TSIP) into mean blood lead levels (BLLs). We then calculated the incidence of mild mental retardation (MMR) and DALYs resulting from these BLLs. Results: The TSIP included 200 sites in 31 countries with soil (n=132) or drinking water (n=68) lead levels, representing 779,989 children younger than 4 years of age potentially exposed to lead. Environmental lead levels produced a range of BLLs from 1.56 to 104.71. μg/dL. These BLLs equated to an estimated loss of 5.41-8.23 IQ points, resulting in an incidence of MMR of 6.03 per 1000 population and 76.1 DALYs per 1000 population. Discussion: Soil and water lead levels at toxic waste sites predict BLLs that lower the intelligence quotient (IQ), with the resulting MMR potentially limiting individual- and country-level development. The preventable burden of disease produced by these sites highlights the need for toxic waste sites to be systematically identified, evaluated, and remediated.
KW - Blood lead level
KW - Children
KW - Disability adjusted life year
KW - Low and middle income country
KW - Toxic waste site
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84901008488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84901008488&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2014.04.018
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2014.04.018
M3 - Article
C2 - 24853976
AN - SCOPUS:84901008488
VL - 132
SP - 379
EP - 383
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
SN - 0013-9351
ER -