M9.4: Heavy Metals

-
Blog on your thoughts about these articles.

Lead Poisoning, Herbert Needleman
            Needleman provides an extensive history about the use of lead in our society. Lead has been used as far back as the second century and has still been used in modern times. Throughout the article, Needleman indicates that lead is particularly detrimental for children and older adults. Lead causes multiple health issues including neurotoxicity, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. In addition to the issues listed, lead toxicity can even be asymptomatic. Although the use of lead lessened and removing it from gasoline has reduced blood lead levels in the United States, older houses still pose a great risk for lead exposure. Even at low levels, lead can still cause physical health and cognitive problems. As noted in the article, treatment with medications can greatly reduce blood lead levels, but the most effective intervention would be primary prevention. The abatement of houses with lead-based paint may be costly, but the cost of lead toxicity is much higher. Removing lead from gasoline is not enough; there are still many children that are exposed to lead in their own homes. With so much knowledge on the damaging effects of lead, it is necessary that we take greater action in preventing exposure.

An environmental health response to a severe outbreak of childhood lead poisoning in Nigeria, Casey Bartrem 
            This short article depicts a health crisis in Nigerian villages in which lead poisoning caused the death of more than 400 young children. This unfortunate event was caused by contaminated soil due to gold mining. Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) and other international agencies collaborated with Nigerian health officials to develop an environmental and health response model. This occurred over a 4-year period, and during this time the children were treated and their blood lead levels declined.
            What is notable about this incident is that the organizations worked with the Nigerian people in order to educate them and involved them in remediating the situation. Allowing them to be involved ensures that future issues, should they arise, will be properly dealt with. When it comes to rural areas, the local population must be informed on what to do in a crisis such as this one; instead of just providing treatment, education and participation was encouraged, which will lead to prevention of lead poisoning in the future.

Comments

  1. Ashley SubramaniMarch 21, 2018 at 5:58 PM

    Hey Loren,

    I think that education should also be done when addressing an issue. It is one thing to provide a solution to a problem but teaching the one's being effected on how to prevent the issue from occurring again will greatly reduce the chances of it occurring once again. Informing the population how to handle the problem is also wise so that they are able to handle the situation before it is unmanageable

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

M5.4 Blog about your CCR & water quality

-
Answer the following questions: What is the source of your drinking water?  According to SF Water, San Francisco gets 85% of our water from the Hetch Hetchy watershed. The rest of our water comes from the Alameda and Peninsula watersheds. In April 2017, SF also started using groundwater from the Westside Groundwater Basin aquifer. Where does your water ORIGINATE? (It is treated at a water treatment plant, but what watershed or aquifer is the sources of the water?)  The Hetch Hetchy watershed. What chemicals were found in your water that were higher than expected?  Most of the chemicals listed were well under the maximum contaminant level goal or the maximum contaminant level. However, I was surprised to know that byproducts of disinfection were still found in the water, like haloacetic acids. I also saw that even though the range for Giardia lamblia was <0-0.11, I thought it was a bit scary because it was still detected. What chemicals did you NOT expect to ...
Read more

Environmental Health News, Week 13: Diesel Ban in Europe

-
There is a small environmental organization, called Deutsche Umwelt Hilfe (DUH) or Environmental Action Germany, that is advocating for reducing air pollution in the European Union. In February, the German Federal Administrative Court banned older diesel fueled cars in certain cities and areas in Germany. This is a big step for the EU as diesel powered cars are used more than gasoline cars. According to the article, diesel cars are a major contributor to air pollution: 60% of nitrogen dioxide in Germany comes from motor vehicles, with three-quarters of that from diesel. Nitrogen dioxide levels and particulate matter levels are almost double the EU limits in cities like Munich. This pollution creates carcinogens and is associated with premature deaths, cardio-pulmonary diseases. Some say that this is the beginning of the end of diesel in the EU. "Paris, Copenhagen, London, and Madrid had already announced they are considering bans on some diesel cars beginning in 2020. " Whi...
Read more

M6.4: Industrial Farming

-
The Vanishing of the Bees and Dirt!: The Movie Before watching "The Vanishing of the Bees", I had only heard about this issue. I never thought to look deeper into it, but after watching this film, I see that it is an extreme issue that is directly related to our actions. "Dirt!: The Movie" further reveals that as a species, we are causing extensive harm to the planet and the environment. One thing that stood out to me was the use of pesticides. Pesticides harm our bees, and other pollinators, but they also harm the earth. As we continue to use these harmful chemicals, we kill our pollinators, destroy our soil, and ruin our environment. Big agriculture seeks to create monoculture and sustain human demand, but in reality, none of this is sustainable at all. From the dirt, to the bees, to the water, to us, we need to think of ways to preserve the environment and work with it to improve for the future. Factory Farms  According to the map, there are no factory farm...
Read more