Lead poisoning epidemics

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Automobile batteries being recycled at the Thiaroye-sur-Mer site where 18 children died of lead poisoning in 2008 Batteries at Thiaroye.jpg
Automobile batteries being recycled at the Thiaroye-sur-Mer site where 18 children died of lead poisoning in 2008

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]

Contents

Notable poisoning events

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.

Large-scale lead poisoning events
Name of eventYearCountryCity# Tested high*# deathsSource of lead exposureReferencesComments
Đông Mai2015VietnamĐông Mai1020Auto-battery recyclingref [3] Ongoing[ as of? ]
El Paso/Juarez1974USA/Mexico El Paso, Texas 3910Lead smelterref [4] Plant closed
Fiengxiang2009China Shaanxi 6150Lead smelterref [5]
Hunan2008China Hunan 13540Manganese factoryref [6]
Jiyuan2009China Jiyuan 10000Lead smelterref [7] 99.7% of children poisoned
Doe Run 2004Peru La Oroya 100's0Lead smelterref [8] Plant closed
Michoacán2009?Mexico Michoacán 3110Lead-glazed potteryref [9] Ongoing[ as of? ]
Santo Amaro1985Brazil Bahia 5550Lead smelterref [10]
Thiaroye-sur-Mer2008Senegal Thiaroye, Dakar 150+18Auto-battery recyclingref [11] Closed
Torreón2000Mexico Torreón 111810Lead smelterref [12]
Zamfara 2010Nigeria Zamfara 1000+163–400Artisanal miningref [13] Ongoing[ as of? ]
Kabwe 2013Zambia Kabwe 1000+0Lead mining and smelterref [14] [15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Lead poisoning". World Health Organization. 11 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Abelsohn, Alan; Sanborn, Margaret (June 2010). "Lead and children: Clinical management for family physicians". Canadian Family Physician. 56 (6): 531–535. PMC   2902938 . PMID   20547517.
  3. ↑ Daniell, William E.; Tung, Lo Van; Wallace, Ryan M.; Havens, Deborah J.; Karr, Catherine J.; Diep, Nguyen Bich; Croteau, Gerry A.; Beaudet, Nancy J.; Bao, Nguyen Duy (2015-10-26). "Childhood Lead Exposure from Battery Recycling in Vietnam". BioMed Research International. 2015: 193715. doi: 10.1155/2015/193715 . PMC   4637436 . PMID   26587532.
  4. ↑ Ordóñez, Blanca Raquel; Romero, Lidia Ruiz; Mora, Refugio (2003). "Investigación epidemiológica sobre niveles de plomo en la población infantil y en el medio ambiente domiciliario de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, en relación con una fundición de El Paso, Texas". Salud Pública de México. 45: 281–295. doi: 10.1590/S0036-36342003000800015 . ISSN   0036-3634.
  5. ↑ Watts, Jonathan; Cui, Zheng (2009-08-17). "Chinese villagers storm factory blamed for lead poisoning of 600 children". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  6. ↑ Watts, Jonathan; correspondent, Asia environment (2009-08-20). "1,300 Chinese children near smelter suffer lead poisoning". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2016-02-19.{{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  7. ↑ "China to move residents from lead smelter base-report". Reuters. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  8. ↑ Fraser, Barbara (2009-07-01). "La Oroya's Legacy of Lead". Environmental Science & Technology. 43 (15): 5555–5557. Bibcode:2009EnST...43.5555F. doi: 10.1021/es901734g . PMID   19731644.
  9. ↑ Fernandez, G. O.; Martinez, R. R.; Fortoul, T. I.; Palazuelos, E. (1997-02-01). "High blood lead levels in ceramic folk art workers in Michoacan, Mexico". Archives of Environmental Health. 52 (1): 51–55. doi:10.1080/00039899709603800. ISSN   0003-9896. PMID   9039858.
  10. ↑ Lalor, G. C.; Vutchkov, M. K.; Bryan, S. T.; Christie, C. D. C.; Donaldson, D.; Young, J.; Chambers, S. (2006-12-01). "Acute lead poisoning associated with backyard lead smelting in Jamaica". The West Indian Medical Journal. 55 (6): 394–398. doi: 10.1590/s0043-31442006000600005 (inactive 12 July 2025). ISSN   0043-3144. PMID   17691233.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  11. ↑ Jones, Donald E.; Diop, Assane; Block, Meredith; Smith-Jones, Alexander; Smith-Jones, Andrea (2011). "Assessment and Remediation of Lead Contamination in Senegal". Journal of Health and Pollution. 1 (2): 37–47. doi: 10.5696/2156-9614.1.2.37 .
  12. ↑ US Centers for Disease Control (203). "Blood Lead Levels and Risk Factors for Lead Poisoning Among Children in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico" (PDF). United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Environmental Health, Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch/Health Studies Branch.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "WHO | Nigeria: mass lead poisoning from mining activities, Zamfara State". www.who.int. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  14. ↑ Yabe, John; Nakayama, Shouta M. M.; Ikenaka, Yoshinori; Yohannes, Yared B.; Bortey-Sam, Nesta; Oroszlany, Balazs; Muzandu, Kaampwe; Choongo, Kennedy; Kabalo, Abel Nketani (2015-01-01). "Lead poisoning in children from townships in the vicinity of a lead–zinc mine in Kabwe, Zambia". Chemosphere. 119: 941–947. Bibcode:2015Chmsp.119..941Y. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.028. hdl: 2115/58817 . PMID   25303652. S2CID   267070208.
  15. ↑ "Notes from the Field: Severe Environmental Contamination and Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children — Zambia, 2014". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
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