A new study suggests that leaded gasoline has caused millions of additional psychiatric cases over the past 75 years.
What’s happening?
NBC News reported that the study was published in December in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
It used several metrics to estimate lead levels in the blood of children between 1940 and 2015 and calculate how much leaded gasoline has caused increased mental health symptoms in the general U.S. population.
The study found that approximately 151 million mental health disorders could be attributed to the use of leaded gasoline. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. began phasing out leaded gasoline in 1986. Currently, its use in passenger cars is banned, but it is still used in “airplanes, racing cars, agricultural machinery and marine engines”.
Why is this document important?
The article stated that the generation most affected by leaded gasoline was Generation X.
Aaron Reuben, one of the study’s co-authors and a postdoctoral researcher in neuropsychology at Duke University and the Medical University of North Carolina, shared an important insight with NBC News.
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Members of Gen X “can’t go back in time and change that,” Reuben said. But “studies like ours today add more evidence that removing lead from our environment and not putting it there in the first place has more benefits than we previously understood.”
While the consequences are undoubtedly unfortunate, we can all move forward with this information and make decisions that will create a healthier world for generations to come.
What is being done about the effects of lead?
Reuben also noted that the study “took existing evidence and applied it to the entire US population,” although researchers stopped short of saying the analysis “proves a causal relationship.” However, we have been certain for some time that any amount of lead is harmful.
The most important thing we can all do right now is take preventative measures. If you have children and are seeing recalls on food they may consume, check your purchases and what you already have. Lead risk assessment is recommended for all young children.
Use this guide from the Environmental Protection Agency if you’re concerned about lead in your drinking water, which may be more applicable if you installed pipes in or before 1986.
You can also advocate for lead-free legislation. You can also support clean drinking water initiatives in places like Flint, Michigan, which continues to advocate for clean drinking water, according to Food & Water Watch.
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