Lead Wars Growing up, I have been pretty darn lucky. I was born and raised in Rochester, Michigan, an upscale, privileged, urban area. There has not been a lot to complain about, my family is happy, and I grew up in a nice, new house without any serious issues. I have never really encountered lead, at least to my knowledge. I grew up in a house that was relatively new, around 12 years old, and it utilized city water. Everything in the house was ”up to code,” and the only worry we had was trying not to fall in our pond, the only water I couldn’t drink growing up. We have been blessed to live in this area of the state while an entire community has to restrain from even drinking water from the tap, just 45 minutes away.
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The key to prevention is recognizing the symptoms. Lead poisoning or exposure to the toxic substance can cause a child's underdeveloped brain to underachieve, which results in low IQ and poor school performance (“Lead Poisoning”). Other symptoms that are more common internally would be effects on “a child's brain, kidneys, bone marrow, and other body systems” (U.S. President’s Task Force). In cases where children have experienced a significant amount of exposure, there are extreme physical symptoms, such as “severe abdominal pain and cramping, vomiting, muscle weakness, stumbling when walking, seizures, coma, encephalopathy, which manifests as confusion, coma and seizures” (“Lead Poisoning”). Lead is a toxic material with traumatic …show more content…
"There should be a program initiated to remove lead from every home in the country," attorney Brian Brown states, giving his insight as to what a solution should be (qtd. in Ludden). This system would be costly, yet effective if proven efficient. Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths, the former chairman of the E.P.A.’s Drinking Water Committee, gave his input as to what the solution to lead exposure should be, stating, ”Over the last decade we’ve learned that the testing routines did not detect true risk from lead, that there are forms of lead that we’re not testing for and that testing was too infrequent,” his idea is to use more effective testing which is likely the most practical solution (qtd. in Wines and Schwartz). No solution is perfect, but prevention is necessary in order to end this threat to children.
Lead exposure is a large issue that was overlooked for a time, but with recent events, it has been brought back to the surface. The generation the poisoning hurts most is the one that has not had a chance to live their lives yet. Children are the future, and lead exposure in poor areas will create a recurring pattern and vacuum keeping children from developing and reaching their
The key to prevention is recognizing the symptoms. Lead poisoning or exposure to the toxic substance can cause a child's underdeveloped brain to underachieve, which results in low IQ and poor school performance (“Lead Poisoning”). Other symptoms that are more common internally would be effects on “a child's brain, kidneys, bone marrow, and other body systems” (U.S. President’s Task Force). In cases where children have experienced a significant amount of exposure, there are extreme physical symptoms, such as “severe abdominal pain and cramping, vomiting, muscle weakness, stumbling when walking, seizures, coma, encephalopathy, which manifests as confusion, coma and seizures” (“Lead Poisoning”). Lead is a toxic material with traumatic …show more content…
"There should be a program initiated to remove lead from every home in the country," attorney Brian Brown states, giving his insight as to what a solution should be (qtd. in Ludden). This system would be costly, yet effective if proven efficient. Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths, the former chairman of the E.P.A.’s Drinking Water Committee, gave his input as to what the solution to lead exposure should be, stating, ”Over the last decade we’ve learned that the testing routines did not detect true risk from lead, that there are forms of lead that we’re not testing for and that testing was too infrequent,” his idea is to use more effective testing which is likely the most practical solution (qtd. in Wines and Schwartz). No solution is perfect, but prevention is necessary in order to end this threat to children.
Lead exposure is a large issue that was overlooked for a time, but with recent events, it has been brought back to the surface. The generation the poisoning hurts most is the one that has not had a chance to live their lives yet. Children are the future, and lead exposure in poor areas will create a recurring pattern and vacuum keeping children from developing and reaching their