According to a UNICEF report, around 1 in 3 children, approximately 800 million children globally, have blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per decilitre. It is a toxic level that requires global intervention according to the World Health Organization.
More than half the affected children are from South Asia. The report stated that lead is a neurotoxin which has the potency to cause irreparable damage to children’s brains. For children who are under the age of 5, it can be extremely destructive as it harms their brain even before it is fully developed.
This can result in lifelong cognitive, neurological and physical impairment. The report also explained that lead exposure in childhood leads to psychological problems and increase in violent behavior.
In later life these children face the risk of kidney damage and cardiovascular diseases. With such elevated levels of lead, children scored lowers in intelligence tests as well. The report also stated that countries with low and middle income are most affected by this global problem. The leading contributor to the lead exposure is substandard recycling of lead acid batteries. Another source of lead poisoning is water from lead pipes.
Most of the household and decorative paints which are manufactured by medium and small enterprises have lead content much more than the permissible limit. Parents who work in lead based factories also bring home contaminated dust through which their children get exposed. Cosmetics like vermillion also contain lead.
The report also gave some suggestions as to how this global problem can be solved. Preventive and control measures should be taken to eliminate the risk of exposure of lead to children. Health systems should be strengthened so that any health issue can be tackled effectively. Most important of all is public awareness and behavior change. Only with true public awareness, this problem can be solved at grass root level.