Lead poisoning tugs children's IQ down

MANGALORE: “It’s terrible to waste a child. Lead poisoning is a preventable disaster,’’ asserted Dr Venkatesh, director, National Referral Centre for Lead Absorption Studies, Bangalore.
Popularly known as ‘Lead’ Venkatesh for his crusade against lead poisoning, especially in children, Dr T. Venkatesh said: “We may produce Aishwarya Rais by the dozen.But we have not been able to have Albert Einsteins.’’
Lead, the metal more useful to man than gold or silver, is dangerous. “I’m concerned about lead poisoning in children because for every 10 microgram increase of lead in blood, a child’s IQ drops by 4-7 points.�
He maintained that lead absorption among children, especially the malnourished, was total, whereas in adults absorption is about 20 per cent.
India uses about 2 lakh tonnes of lead per year and 80 per cent is used in storage batteries. “A vehicle battery uses 20 kg of lead and it’s misuse is disastrous as unscientific smelting and reloading by unorganised battery recyclers spreads lead dust over 1 sqkm radius. Children living in this radius are affected,� he says.
He refers to Bangalore as a minefield which has around 5,000 unorganised battery recyclers. Pointing to a study conducted by George Foundation, Bangalore, in 2000, he said of the 23,000 children tested for Elevated Blood Lead (EBL), 53 per cent below the age of 12 years had EBL levels.
People unwittingly fall prey to lead poisoning, he said. At the Tirupati temple, stone slabs in the dining room were sealed with lead as the cement used to break due to repeated scrubbing. The temple authorities used 36 tonnes of lead in 1997 to seal the joints.
Soon after, repeated scrubbing had washed lead into the six wells inside the temple premises and the children of priests had high EBL. The children were tested as the priests had refused to be tested for lead levels. He had suggested that the temple authorities replace lead with epoxy, which has been done. “Till lead was present in the temple premises, they were serving ‘leadoos’!� he joked.
He warned men and women who use hair dyes to look young. “Hair dyes contain 1.5 per cent lead acetate, which manufacturers claim is safe, but is not,’’ he maintained.
Similarly, all Indian paints have lead barring one company (ICI), whose market share is only 9 per cent due to its high cost as it does not use lead. Lead is used in paints to give it lustre. Yellow, the colour commonly used to paint school buses, has a high content of lead after three coats.
“The public has to be careful as the ‘hand to mouth’ habit of children makes them potential targets when the paint peels off,’’ he noted with caution. Once lead is absorbed, it remains in the bones for 35 years and once it enters the brain, it does not come out. Which explains its effect on IQ, he observed.
He recalled how many women had given birth to stillborn children in Bangalore, and the source was detected to the Vrishabhavathi river which was contaminated by battery recycling units.
The grass on the shore had absorbed the lead, which was in turn absorbed by cows while grazing, and pregnant women who drank the milk had their embryos poisoned. “I have warned the authorities concerned, but things have not changed,’’ he rued.