Lead Poisoning in South African Children: The Hazard is at Horne
-
Angela Mathec
,
Yasmin von Schirnding
Abstract
Lead is a toxic heavy metal that has been used extensively in modern society, causing widespread environmental contamination even in isolated parts of the world. Irrefutable evidence associates lead at different exposure levels with a wide spectrum of health and social effects, including mild intellectual impairment, hyperactivity, shortened concentration span, poor school performance, violent/aggressive behavior, and hearing loss. Lead has an impact on virtually all organ systems, including the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and circulatory system, resulting in coma and death in severe cases. In recent years, a consensus was reached regarding the absence of a threshold for the key health effects associated with lead exposure and the permanent and irreversible nature of many health and social consequences of lead exposure. The public health problem of environmental lead exposure has been widely investigated in developed countries like the United States of America, where actions taken have led to significant reductions in children's blood lead concentrations. In contrast, there is a relative dearth of information and action regarding lead poisoning in developing countries, particularly in African countries, despite evidence of widespread and excessive childhood lead exposure. In this paper, we will review the information from available published papers, the 'grey Literature', and unpublished reports to give an overview of lead exposure in South African children over the past two decades, with particular emphasis on sources of exposure in the home environment.
© 2021 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Title
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION. Housing, Health and Weii-Being: Moving Forward
- Gender Differences in the Relationship between Housing, Socioeconomic Status, and Self-Reported Health Status
- Interventions to Improve Children's Health by Improving the Housing Environment
- Housing and Health in Later Life
- Horne Safety in the UK-A Review of the Influence of Human and Housing Factors
- Investigations into the Indoor Environment and Respiratory Health in Boston Public Housing
- Health Impact of Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Horne
- Housing and Health Transition in Thailand
- Housing, Urban Development and Health in Latin America: Contrasts, Inequalities and Challenges
- Lead Poisoning in South African Children: The Hazard is at Horne
- Homelessness-On the Health Agenda in Wales?
- Residential Environment and Health: A Review of Methodological and Conceptual Issues
Articles in the same Issue
- Title
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION. Housing, Health and Weii-Being: Moving Forward
- Gender Differences in the Relationship between Housing, Socioeconomic Status, and Self-Reported Health Status
- Interventions to Improve Children's Health by Improving the Housing Environment
- Housing and Health in Later Life
- Horne Safety in the UK-A Review of the Influence of Human and Housing Factors
- Investigations into the Indoor Environment and Respiratory Health in Boston Public Housing
- Health Impact of Environmental Tobacco Smoke in the Horne
- Housing and Health Transition in Thailand
- Housing, Urban Development and Health in Latin America: Contrasts, Inequalities and Challenges
- Lead Poisoning in South African Children: The Hazard is at Horne
- Homelessness-On the Health Agenda in Wales?
- Residential Environment and Health: A Review of Methodological and Conceptual Issues
