We must better protect kids from toxic lead exposure

TheConversation: The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) today released new guidelines aimed at reducing children’s harmful exposure to lead. Soil, dust, water and air-based exposure to lead can interfere with the development of the nervous systems and cause behavioural and developmental problems. The effects of lead exposure are greatest in unborn children and those aged under five years, when their growing brains absorb high levels of calcium. Because lead (Pb2+) mimics calcium (Ca2+), children in lead-rich environments absorb larger amounts of lead in place of calcium.

Playground washing only temporary solution to children’s exposure to lead dust

Australia: A new study has found that while the washing of playground equipment in mining towns does reduce children's exposure to dust metals by 55.9%, recontamination occurs within 24 hours. The study was based in Port Pirie, South Australia, where lead smelting has taken place since 1889. Dust with metals (arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) in Port Pirie playgrounds have been recorded at levels well above state and international benchmarks. The research team was led by Professor Mark Taylor of Macquarie University, who in a 2013 study showed that atmospheric emissions from the Port Pirie smelter were directly related to surface dust and hand metal exposures from playground equipment.

What's lead role in schizophrenia?

Columbia: A study of the brains of rats exposed to lead has uncovered striking similarities with what is known about the brains of human schizophrenia patients, adding compelling evidence that lead is a factor in the onset of schizophrenia. Results of the study by scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health appear in the journal Translational Psychiatry.