The Poisoning
Residents of Lower Klity Creek may be exposed to lead in their daily lives—such as by drinking water or eating fish and other aquatic animals from Klity Creek, by eating food grown in lead-contaminated plots or cooked in lead-contaminated water, by contact with polluted soil around their houses, or breathing air contaminated by lead dust.[7]
Residents of Lower Klity Creek may be exposed to lead in their daily lives—such as by drinking water or eating fish and other aquatic animals from Klity Creek, by eating food grown in lead-contaminated plots or cooked in lead-contaminated water, by contact with polluted soil around their houses, or breathing air contaminated by lead dust.[7]
Lead is a poisonous metal that poses serious health hazards: the most sensitive targets for lead toxicity are children’s developing nervous systems, the hematological and cardiovascular systems, and the kidneys.[8] Symptoms can include neurological and physical problems such as anxiety, insomnia, anemia, memory loss, sudden behavioral changes, concentration difficulties, headaches, abdominal pains, fatigue, depression, hearing impediments, muscle spasms, disorientation, convulsions, and high blood pressure.[9] The range of manifestations of lead poisoning means that it can go unrecognized or can be confused with other disorders.[10]
Public health authorities recognize that there is no safe level of lead exposure. The World Health Organization notes:
At lower levels of exposure that cause no obvious symptoms, and that previously were considered safe, lead is now known to produce a spectrum of injury across multiple body systems. In particular, lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as shortening of attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment. Lead exposure also causes anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are believed to be irreversible.[11]
Pregnant women and children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning. In pregnant women, it can cause premature birth, low birth weight, or damage the fetus’ developing brain. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified.[12]
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dropped the “level of concern” of 25 micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood in children to 10 micrograms in 1991.[13] In 2012 the US CDC adopted a new approach that recommended that health officials should respond to a child found with a test result greater than or equal to 5 micrograms per deciliter of lead in blood.[14]
Blood tests carried out from 1998 to 2008 revealed elevated levels of lead in the blood of people living around Klity Creek. While results vary based on who is studied and when the study was carried out, a number of studies show lead in individual’s blood at between 10 micrograms and 50 micrograms, with averages of around 20 to 30 micrograms per deciliter of lead.[15] In 2002-2003, the Ministry of Public Health reported that 235 children had lead in their blood over 25 micrograms per deciliter (out of 1558 children tested), while 83 adults had lead in their blood above 40 micrograms per deciliter (of 947 adults tested).[16]
Research with residents of Upper and Lower Klity Creek villages, published in 2007, showed that when compared to villagers in nearby communities, individuals living near Klity Creek presented symptoms consistent with lead exposure. They tended to score lower in IQ tests and more frequently report illnesses such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, concentration problems, muscle pains, headaches, insomnia, and memory loss.[17]