Study Shows ADHD can be Linked to Lead Poisoning
February 16th, 2010
Natural News
By S. L. Baker
What causes the frequently diagnosed behavioral problem in children known as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that leads to countless youngsters being given side-effect laden stimulant drugs? Research has focused on genes and, more recently, on the idea that multiple environmental triggers could be the cause. For example, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a recent British study indicates that certain food additives like artificial colors or preservatives could cause ADHD symptoms in some children.
Now two studies — one published in the January issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and the other published in the February issue of the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science — provide the best evidence yet that lead could be one of the biggest culprits behind ADHD.
At very high levels, lead poisoning can cause seizures, coma, and even kill. But it is chronic, long term exposure that is the more common health threat, especially for children. Researchers have previously linked elevated blood levels of lead in kids to problems ranging from mental retardation to learning disabilities. In a statement the media, Oregon Health and Science University researcher Joel Nigg, who co-authored both of the new studies, pointed out that almost all Americans have a low-level exposure to lead, a well-known neurotoxin, making the metal an ideal candidate for causing ADHD.
Although government regulations drastically reduced environmental exposure to lead a generation ago by regulating automobile fuel and paint ingredients, lead is still found in everything from children’s costume jewelry and toys to soil and some imported candies. In fact, Dr. Nigg stated that virtually all U.S. children have measurable levels of lead in their bodies.
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New Lead Fears for Children
January 12, 2010
NaturalNews
by David Gutierrez
Children can suffer cognitive and behavioral damage from lead exposure at half the blood levels currently considered safe, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Bristol Center for Child and Adolescent Health and published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
“Lead in the body is one of many factors that [has an] impact on education, but this is a reminder that environmental factors are important and pediatricians must test more children with behavioral problems for lead,” said lead researcher Alan Emond.
Researchers tested the blood of 582 children, all of whom were 30 months of age, then followed them until they were seven or eight years old. After adjusting for other factors, they found that children who had blood lead levels between 5 and 10 micrograms per deciliter scored an average of 49 percent lower on reading tests and 51 percent lower on writing tests than children with levels below 5 micrograms.
The maximum level considered safe by the British and U.S. governments is 10 micrograms per deciliter. Lead is a neurotoxin that is especially damaging to fetuses and young children, although it can harm the brains and nervous systems of adults, as well.
Children with blood lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter were also significantly more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior and hyperactivity than children with lower lead levels. Children with levels above 10 micrograms per deciliter scored even worse on hyperactivity, antisocial behavior, and educational performance tests than children in the 5 to 10 microgram per deciliter group.
“We did our blood survey when the children were about two-and-a-half years old,” Emond said. “We think this is quite close to the peak age for lead ingestion when the children are putting everything in their mouths as they explore their environment.”
Twenty-seven percent of the children tested had lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter.
Toxic Chemicals Found in Face Pain
October 27, 2009
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
PRNewswire-USNewswire
Ghosts and goblins aren't the only spooky things lurking around this Halloween.
A new report by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reveals that popular children's
face paints contain lead, a potent neurotoxin, as well as nickel, cobalt and chromium,
which can cause lifelong skin sensitization and contact dermatitis.
Creepier yet, these metals were not listed on any of the product labels, so
parents have no way of knowing what children are really putting on their
faces.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health
groups, sent 10 children's face paints to an independent lab to test for heavy
metals, and also reviewed ingredient labels of Halloween products sold at a
seasonal holiday store. The findings, compiled in the report Pretty Scary,
include:
-- Ten out of 10 children's face paints contained lead ranging from 0.05 to
0.65 parts per million (ppm). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention recommends that parents avoid using cosmetics on their
children that could be contaminated with lead.
-- Six out of 10 children's face paints contained nickel, cobalt and/or
chromium, which are top allergens in children. The metals were found at
levels ranging from 1.6 to 120 ppm - many of them far exceeding industry
safety recommendations of 1 ppm.
-- Snazaroo Face Paint, labeled as "non-toxic" and "hypoallergenic,"
contained some of the highest levels of lead, nickel and cobalt found in
the study.
"Parents should not have to worry that face paint contains lead and other
hazardous substances, and they have a right to know what's in these products.
Clearly, companies are not making the safest products possible for children,
even though kids are particularly vulnerable to toxic exposures," said Lisa
Archer, national coordinator of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast
Cancer Fund.
"Lead and other hazardous chemicals have no place in face paints kids use for
dress-up and play on Halloween or any other day of the year," said Rep. Jan
Schakowsky (D-Ill.). "Strengthening our cosmetics laws and providing ample
resources are essential to ensure the FDA has the authority and tools it needs
to protect the health of our children from chemicals in cosmetics."
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Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs Poisons Factory Workers
September 2, 2009
Natural News
By David Gutierrez
Energy efficiency for the First World comes at a high cost for factory workers in China, with high rates of mercury poisoning being reported among employees in the plants that make compact fluorescent light bulbs.
In an effort to reign in global warming caused by excessive greenhouse gas emissions, the European Union has passed a law mandating the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs in favor of the more energy-efficient compact fluorescents by 2012. This has contributed to a huge surge in demand for the bulbs, and a corresponding upswing in manufacturing.
Unfortunately, fluorescent bulbs require mercury to start the chemical reaction that produces the light. This mercury can pose a significant health hazard; the British government advises that if a compact fluorescent bulb breaks, the room should be evacuated for 15 minutes until the mercury vapors can disperse.
Mercury is a known neurotoxin that is particularly dangerous to children and pregnant women.
According to a recent study by the Chinese health ministry, however, mercury exposure is widespread among the workers making these bulbs. At one factory in Jinzhou, 121 of 123 employees contained a dangerous body burden of mercury, with one worker carrying 150 times the government-mandated threshold. At a factory in Anyang, 35 percent of workers had suffered from mercury poisoning and the plant was dumping mercury directly into the local water supply.
Interviews conducted by the London Times turned up hundreds of cases of dangerous mercury exposure and even hospitalization, but many workers are afraid to complain for fear of losing their jobs.
“In tests, the mercury content in my blood and urine exceeded the standard, but I was not sent to hospital because the managers said I was strong and the mercury would be decontaminated by my immune system,” one young female worker said.
The paper also turned up a case where 68 of 72 workers at one factory had required hospitalization for mercury poisoning.
Click here for the full report from Natural News
