NOT JUST IN PENCILS –
Dec. 8, 2024 – Americans born before 1966 experienced “significantly higher rates of mental health problems as a result of lead, and likely experienced changes to their personalities that would have made them less successful and resilient in life.” Lead is “neurotoxic” and can erode brain cells and alter brain function – therefore, there is “no safe level of exposure at any point in life.” Young children are especially vulnerable … Lead study author Aaron Reuben, PhD, based in North Carolina, wrote in a statement that humans are “not adapted to be exposed to lead at the levels we have been exposed to over the past century.”
He added, “We have very few effective measures for dealing with lead once it is in the body, and many of us have been exposed to levels 1,000 to 10,000 times more than what is natural.”
The researchers analyzed historical data on childhood blood-lead levels, leaded gas use and U.S. population statistics, determining that more than 170 million Americans had “clinically concerning levels” of lead in their blood as children as of 2015.
Lead exposure resulted in greater rates of mental disorders like depression and anxiety, but also more “mild distress that would impair quality of life.”
“We saw very significant shifts in mental health across generations of Americans…
