CHILDREN AND LEAD POISONING
The National Rural Health Mission has, for the first time initiated an awareness programme for doctors, health workers, and local body representatives across the state on lead poisoning, which is poised to be a major public health problem. " Exhaust fumes from auto mobiles, paints, many traditional medicines, cosmetics and recycling of electronic wastes and lead acid batteries all release lead in to the environment is not possible but we can adopt safety measure ro reduce the hazards of lead poisoning" says Thuppil Venkatesh, director of National Referral Center for lead poisoning in India (NRCLPI) and the principal adviser to the Quality council of India (QCI), which is leading the training programme.
As a professor of biochemistry at St. Johns National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, Dr Venkatesh had initiated a three - year study in 1997, measuring the blood lead levels of 23,000 children in sever metro cities. " We found that 51.3 percent children under 12 years of age had blood lead measures above 10 ug/dl (10 micro grams per 100 ml of blood) A level above 10 ug is known to reduce the IQ and create developmental problems in children. Dr Venkatesh says.
All the children in the study had, on an average blood lead levels above 20 ug. This study gave the final push for the introduction of unleaded petrol in India in 2000 NRCLPI was established in Bangalore in 2003 to conduct research in lead poisoning.
Synthetic dyes and paints and cosmetics like " Kajal" contain high amounts of lead and these are ingested by us in varied ways. " he says ,people often wrap food directly in news papers and the lead from the printing ink is transferred to the food. Children may chew on pencils or toys, the paints on which may contain lead. Incidentally, yellow paint,used in the standard colour of school buses, has the highest lead content among paints. Lead accumulates in bones,skin and hair and does not degrade.High blood lead levels may result in learning and hearing disability and attention- deficit in children. It leds to the early onset of osteoporosis
Dr Venkatesh says that only awareness can make people cautious. In many rural areas people recycle lead acid batteries pr solder electronic items with bare hands and no personal protection equipment. Testiing of blood lead levels and treatment for lead poisoning ( If blood lead levels are 45 ug/dl are very expensive.
Countries like Australia switched to lead free paints decades ago. But in India, 91 percent of paints in the market have high lead content. What ever lead free paints produced are exported. Dr Venkatesh says. The Bureau of Indian standards has fixed the standard for lead in paints at 1000 PPM, While in the US, regulators are pressing to bring lead content in paints down to 10 PPM, he said.
Prof. John Kurakar
The National Rural Health Mission has, for the first time initiated an awareness programme for doctors, health workers, and local body representatives across the state on lead poisoning, which is poised to be a major public health problem. " Exhaust fumes from auto mobiles, paints, many traditional medicines, cosmetics and recycling of electronic wastes and lead acid batteries all release lead in to the environment is not possible but we can adopt safety measure ro reduce the hazards of lead poisoning" says Thuppil Venkatesh, director of National Referral Center for lead poisoning in India (NRCLPI) and the principal adviser to the Quality council of India (QCI), which is leading the training programme.As a professor of biochemistry at St. Johns National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, Dr Venkatesh had initiated a three - year study in 1997, measuring the blood lead levels of 23,000 children in sever metro cities. " We found that 51.3 percent children under 12 years of age had blood lead measures above 10 ug/dl (10 micro grams per 100 ml of blood) A level above 10 ug is known to reduce the IQ and create developmental problems in children. Dr Venkatesh says.
All the children in the study had, on an average blood lead levels above 20 ug. This study gave the final push for the introduction of unleaded petrol in India in 2000 NRCLPI was established in Bangalore in 2003 to conduct research in lead poisoning.
Synthetic dyes and paints and cosmetics like " Kajal" contain high amounts of lead and these are ingested by us in varied ways. " he says ,people often wrap food directly in news papers and the lead from the printing ink is transferred to the food. Children may chew on pencils or toys, the paints on which may contain lead. Incidentally, yellow paint,used in the standard colour of school buses, has the highest lead content among paints. Lead accumulates in bones,skin and hair and does not degrade.High blood lead levels may result in learning and hearing disability and attention- deficit in children. It leds to the early onset of osteoporosis
Dr Venkatesh says that only awareness can make people cautious. In many rural areas people recycle lead acid batteries pr solder electronic items with bare hands and no personal protection equipment. Testiing of blood lead levels and treatment for lead poisoning ( If blood lead levels are 45 ug/dl are very expensive.
Countries like Australia switched to lead free paints decades ago. But in India, 91 percent of paints in the market have high lead content. What ever lead free paints produced are exported. Dr Venkatesh says. The Bureau of Indian standards has fixed the standard for lead in paints at 1000 PPM, While in the US, regulators are pressing to bring lead content in paints down to 10 PPM, he said.
Prof. John Kurakar
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