Lead levels in kids drop 75% in 20 years

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August 6, 2015

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Lead levels in kids drop 75% in 20 years

By Cai Wenjun | August 6, 2015, Thursday |

Print Edition

LEAD levels in Shanghai pre-schoolers are a quarter of what they were 20 years ago and are similar to those in children in Western countries, according to a new study.

This dramatic drop can be attributed to the city adopting non-leaded petrol in 1997, cleaner energy and improved hygiene, said researchers.

The two-year study was conducted by experts from the Ministry of Education and Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children’s Environmental Health at Shanghai Xinhua Hospital.

The team analyzed blood samples from 2,144 children in Jing’an, Xuhui, Yangpu and Jiading districts, the Pudong New Area and Chongming County.

They found that lead levels in the blood of children aged under 6 had dropped from 83 micrograms per liter in 1997 to the current 20 micrograms per liter.

This compares with 10 micrograms per liter found in American children and levels of between 10 and 20 micrograms per liter in children in Europe, said the Shanghai Xinhua team.

While no safe level of exposure to lead has been discovered, in China 100 micrograms per liter is viewed as excessive, while in the United States the figure is 50 micrograms per liter.

The Shanghai data is part of a national study of 30,000 children in 15 provinces and municipalities. The full results will be announced late this year.

Research team leader Dr Yan Chonghuai said lead levels in Chinese children are dropping, and Shanghai has among the lowest levels.

“The rise of lead in people’s blood was related to industrialization,” Yan said.

“It was 150 micrograms per liter among American children in the 1970s and 90 micrograms per liter among Chinese children in the 1990s.

Yan said the fall is partly down to the city promoting non-lead petrol in 1997, three years ahead of national moves.

Children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning as it exists widely in the environment and because their smaller bodies are in a state of growth.

They absorb lead faster than adults and while learning to walk are liable to ingest contaminated dust. Improved hygiene tackles this, said the team.

Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems and higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

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Lead levels in kids drop 75% in 20 years

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