Lead poisoning epidemics refer to specific instances of mass lead poisoning. These events often occur without the knowledge of the communities they affect. Common causes of lead poisoning epidemics include mining, lead recycling, and food/water contamination. [1] These events also cause disproportionate childhood fatalities as children are more susceptible to lead poisoning than adults. [1] [2]
This list does not include events wherein fewer than 100 people were affected, individual lead paint poisoning cases, or lead poisoning resulting from the consumption of contaminated food or water, such as the Flint Water Crisis. The cases below are discrete events of mass lead poisonings.
| Name of event | Year | Country | City | # Tested high* | # deaths | Source of lead exposure | References | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Đông Mai | 2015 | Vietnam | Đông Mai | 102 | 0 | Auto-battery recycling | ref [3] | Ongoing[ as of? ] |
| El Paso/Juarez | 1974 | USA/Mexico | El Paso, Texas | 391 | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [4] | Plant closed |
| Fiengxiang | 2009 | China | Shanxi | 615 | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [5] | |
| Hunan | 2008 | China | Hunan | 1354 | 0 | Manganese factory | ref [6] | |
| Jiyuan | 2009 | China | Jiyuan | 1000 | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [7] | 99.7% of children poisoned |
| Doe Run | 2004 | Peru | La Oroya | 100's | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [8] | Plant closed |
| Michoacán | 2009? | Mexico | Michoacán | 311 | 0 | Lead-glazed pottery | ref [9] | Ongoing[ as of? ] |
| Santo Amaro | 1985 | Brazil | Bahia | 555 | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [10] | |
| Thiaroye-sur-Mer | 2008 | Senegal | Thiaroye, Dakar | 150+ | 18 | Auto-battery recycling | ref [11] | Closed |
| Torreón | 2000 | Mexico | Torreón | 11181 | 0 | Lead smelter | ref [12] | |
| Zamfara | 2010 | Nigeria | Zamfara | 1000+ | 163–400 | Artisanal mining | ref [13] | Ongoing[ as of? ] |
| Kabwe | 2013 | Zambia | Kabwe | 1000+ | 0 | Lead mining and smelter | ref [14] [15] |
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and the atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is a notoriously toxic heavy metal. It occurs naturally in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. It has various allotropes, but only the grey form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to industry.
Lead is a chemical element; it has symbol Pb and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, lead is a shiny gray with a hint of blue. It tarnishes to a dull gray color when exposed to air. Lead has the highest atomic number of any stable element and three of its isotopes are endpoints of major nuclear decay chains of heavier elements.
A toxic heavy metal is a common but misleading term for a metallic element noted for its potential toxicity. Not all heavy metals are toxic and some toxic metals are not heavy. Elements often discussed as toxic include cadmium, mercury and lead, all of which appear in the World Health Organization's list of 10 chemicals of major public concern. Other examples include chromium and nickel, thallium, bismuth, arsenic, antimony and tin.
Arsenic poisoning is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood. Long-term exposure can result in thickening of the skin, darker skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea, heart disease, numbness, and cancer.
Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, and tingling in the hands and feet. It causes almost 10% of intellectual disability of otherwise unknown cause and can result in behavioral problems. Some of the effects are permanent. In severe cases, anemia, seizures, coma, or death may occur.
Itai-itai disease was the name given to the mass cadmium poisoning of Toyama Prefecture, Japan, starting around 1912. The term "itai-itai disease" was coined by locals for the severe pains people with the condition felt in the spine and joints. Cadmium (Cd) poisoning can also cause softening of the bones and kidney failure. Effective treatments involve the use of chelators to promote urinary excretion of Cd. The cadmium was released into rivers by mining companies in the mountains, which were successfully sued for the damage. Remediation efforts in the affected region have been ongoing since 1972 and were mostly complete as of 2012. Monetary costs of the cleanup have been paid for in part by Japan's national government, Mitsui Mining, and the Gifu and Toyama prefectural governments. Itai-itai disease is known as one of the Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan.
Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province and the Kabwe District, with a population estimated at 288,598 at the 2022 census. Named Broken Hill until 1966, it was founded when lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics as it was an important political centre during the colonial period.
Polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), also called brominated biphenyls or polybromobiphenyls, are a group of manufactured chemicals that consist of polyhalogenated derivatives of a biphenyl core. Their chlorine analogs are the PCBs. While once widely used commercially, PBBs are now controlled substances under the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive, which limits their use in electrical and electronic products sold in the EU.
Electronic waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. It is also commonly known as waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) or end-of-life (EOL) electronics. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informal processing of e-waste in developing countries can lead to adverse human health effects and environmental pollution. The growing consumption of electronic goods due to the Digital Revolution and innovations in science and technology, such as bitcoin, has led to a global e-waste problem and hazard. The rapid exponential increase of e-waste is due to frequent new model releases and unnecessary purchases of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE), short innovation cycles and low recycling rates, and a drop in the average life span of computers.
Soil contamination, soil pollution, or land pollution as a part of land degradation is caused by the presence of xenobiotic (human-made) chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment. It is typically caused by industrial activity, agricultural chemicals or improper disposal of waste. The most common chemicals involved are petroleum hydrocarbons, polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, solvents, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Contamination is correlated with the degree of industrialization and intensity of chemical substance. The concern over soil contamination stems primarily from health risks, from direct contact with the contaminated soil, vapour from the contaminants, or from secondary contamination of water supplies within and underlying the soil. Mapping of contaminated soil sites and the resulting clean ups are time-consuming and expensive tasks, and require expertise in geology, hydrology, chemistry, computer modelling, and GIS in Environmental Contamination, as well as an appreciation of the history of industrial chemistry.
Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a form of groundwater pollution which is often due to naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater. It is a high-profile problem due to the use of deep tube wells for water supply in the Ganges Delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of people. A 2007 study found that over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are probably affected by arsenic poisoning of drinking water. The problem became a serious health concern after mass poisoning of water in Bangladesh. Arsenic contamination of ground water is found in many countries throughout the world, including the US.
Pure Earth is a New York City-based international not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 that works to identify, clean up, and solve pollution problems in low- and middle-income countries, where high concentrations of toxic pollution have devastating health impacts, especially on children. These communities suffer disproportionately from pollution-related diseases. Pure Earth remains the only significant organization of its kind working to solve pollution on a global scale.
Pollution in China is one aspect of the broader topic of environmental issues in China. Various forms of pollution have increased following the industrialisation of China, causing widespread environmental and health problems.
Battery recycling is a recycling activity that aims to reduce the number of batteries being disposed as municipal solid waste. Batteries contain a number of heavy metals and toxic chemicals and disposing of them by the same process as regular household waste has raised concerns over soil contamination and water pollution. While reducing the amount of pollutants being released through disposal through the uses of landfill and incineration, battery recycling can facilitate the release of harmful materials from batteries to both the environment and the workers recycling batteries.
Environmental toxicology is a multidisciplinary field of science concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms. Ecotoxicology is a subdiscipline of environmental toxicology concerned with studying the harmful effects of toxicants at the population and ecosystem levels.
Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) are a group of chemical compounds that are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment. They are mostly by-products of burning or various industrial processes or, in the case of dioxin-like PCBs and PBBs, unwanted minor components of intentionally produced mixtures.
The 2009 Chinese lead poisoning scandal occurred in the Shaanxi province of China when pollution from a lead plant poisoned children in the surrounding area. Over 850 were affected. Villagers have accused the local and central governments of covering up the scandal.
Exide was one of the world's largest producers, distributors and recyclers of lead-acid batteries. Lead-acid batteries are used in automobiles, golf carts, fork-lifts, electric cars and motorcycles. They are recycled by grinding them open, neutralizing the sulfuric acid, and separating the polymers from the lead and copper. In the US, 97 percent of the lead from car batteries is recycled - which is the highest recycling rate for any commodity. Most states require stores to take back old batteries.
The Kabwe mine or Broken Hill mine is a former lead smelting and mining site near Kabwe, Zambia, that operated from 1906 to 1994. At its peak, between 1925 and 1974, it was owned by Anglo American plc and was Africa's largest lead producer. The mine produced extremely toxic lead pollution for ninety years. Several studies have confirmed that over 100,000 people near the mine, including tens of thousands of children, suffer from lead poisoning. Kabwe is one of the world's most polluted towns.
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