{"id":257517,"date":"2023-08-27T00:32:24","date_gmt":"2023-08-26T19:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=257517"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:31:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T06:01:46","slug":"indu-bhushan-and-soumya-swaminathan-write-indias-hidden-adversary-lead-poisoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/indu-bhushan-and-soumya-swaminathan-write-indias-hidden-adversary-lead-poisoning\/","title":{"rendered":"Indu Bhushan and Soumya Swaminathan write: India\u2019s hidden adversary, lead poisoning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source:<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cIndu Bhushan and Soumya Swaminathan write: India\u2019s hidden adversary, lead poisoning<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 26th August 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus:<\/strong> GS3 – Environment Pollution<\/p>\n

News:<\/strong> The author discusses the serious issue of lead poisoning in India, affecting many children. Despite global awareness, India’s old paints, water-pipes, and certain jobs expose people to lead. The author suggests legislative changes, monitoring, cleanup of contaminated areas, and public awareness as solutions to protect future generations.<\/p>\n

Why lead poisoning a concern in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

High Exposure in Children:<\/strong> A 2021 study found that about 20 crore children in India have blood lead levels exceeding the safe limit set by WHO.<\/p>\n

Severe Health Impact:<\/strong> Lead poisoning can lead to learning disabilities, neurological impairments, stunted growth, and organ damage. Children are especially vulnerable.<\/p>\n

Economic and Social Impact:<\/strong> The effects of lead poisoning account for a significant learning gap between rich and poor countries. Affected children might achieve less in education and work, impacting the nation’s productivity.<\/p>\n

Prevalent Lead Sources:<\/strong> India has old paints and water-pipes releasing toxic lead dust. There’s also exposure from informal recycling of lead-acid batteries and certain occupations.<\/p>\n

How did others countries address this?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

U.S. Initiative with Gasoline:<\/strong> The U.S. successfully reduced blood lead concentration by over 90% between 1976 and 1995 by eliminating lead from gasoline.<\/p>\n

Paint and Water-pipe Regulations:<\/strong> Globally, countries have introduced strict standards to ensure paints and water pipes are lead-free, reducing exposure sources.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh’s Turmeric Solution:<\/strong> Turmeric adulteration was a major lead source in Bangladesh. By introducing strict regulations and educating consumers between 2017 and 2021, they reduced lead-tainted turmeric from 47% in 2019 to 0% in 2021.<\/p>\n

How can India tackle this issue?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Clear Legislation:<\/strong> India needs a strong legislative framework defining health and safety standards, especially for manufacturing and recycling products containing lead.<\/p>\n

Enforce Standards:<\/strong> It’s vital to strictly enforce regulations on paints and water pipes, given their contribution to lead exposure.<\/p>\n

Monitoring System:<\/strong> Establish a system for blood lead level testing. Introducing such monitoring in household surveys can help identify affected populations.<\/p>\n

Identify Contaminated Sites:<\/strong> Launch nationwide efforts to pinpoint lead-contaminated areas, prioritizing clean-ups near schools and residential zones.<\/p>\n

Promote Sustainable Practices:<\/strong> Establish waste management practices and electronic waste recycling programs to minimize lead contamination.<\/p>\n

Inter-departmental Coordination:<\/strong> Enhance collaboration between government agencies, NGOs, and international partners to address the issue cohesively.<\/p>\n

Public Awareness:<\/strong> Raise awareness about lead’s dangers, targeting parents, workers in lead-related industries, schools, and healthcare professionals to ensure wide-reaching impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on the article \u201cIndu Bhushan and Soumya Swaminathan write: India\u2019s hidden adversary, lead poisoning\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian Express\u201d on 26th August 2023. Syllabus: GS3 – Environment Pollution News: The author discusses the serious issue of lead poisoning in India, affecting many children. Despite global awareness, India’s old paints, water-pipes,… Continue reading Indu Bhushan and Soumya Swaminathan write: India\u2019s hidden adversary, lead poisoning<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[59,216],"class_list":["post-257517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-environment","tag-gs-paper-3","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257517\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}