[ambio] POLLUTION COULD BE DAMAGING INTELLIGENCE] (fwd)

Date: Fri, 19 Jun 1998 17:35:25 -0300 (ADT)
From: Deborah Ellen Bakker <dbakker@is2.dal.ca>
To: sust-mar@chebucto.ns.ca
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <sust-mar-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>

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This is the message that was supposed to follow the blurb I put in front
of the issue of rachel that was about reducing municipalities' use of
hazardous chemicals.  oops.  As I mentioned before, the story comes from
the BBC and is based on research in the U.K., but I thought it would still
be of interest to people.

d


-------------------------------------------------
> BBC News
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> Saturday, May 23, 1998
>
> Pollution 'damaging' intelligence
>
> Pollution could affect intelligence of
> one in 10 British children
>
>      Pollution and poor land quality is said to be reducing the
> intelligence of millions of people throughout the world.
>      Research by a scientist at London University, Dr Christopher
> Williams, has suggested pollutants such as lead affects the
> intelligence of one in 10 children in Britain, but up to 90% in
> some African countries.
>      Dr Williams told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that in
> considering the environment, a lot of attention was paid to cancer
> and respiratory disease "because you can put them under a
> microscope and see what's happening.
>      "You can't put an IQ loss under a mircroscope and see what's
> happening.
>      "As policy-makers we should be saying: give the difficult
> science a bit more of a chance because there is not so much of it
> around and perhaps we ought to put a bit more funding in."
>      Dr Williams' findings are derived from compiling hundreds of
> studies carried out in recent decades, which had not been put
> together.
>      For example, in the US, 17% of children were said to have lead
> levels affecting their intelligence. A further study showed 5% of
> US babies had exposure to toxic PCBs that affected intelligence.
> But it was not known if the same children were involved.
>      "We know very little about the combined effects of these
> things," said Dr Williams.
>      Dr David Wray, head of the Medical Research Council's
> Neuro-Toxology Unit, told the Today programme that Dr Williams had
> done a useful service by drawing attention to the underestimated
> risk of damage to the brain.  "Perhaps his book rather overstates
> the case a bit, but it's a very good argument in favour of
> considering the nervous system, which is very important because it
> limits how people can perform in their lives."
>      He doubted that one in 10 children were affected by lead right
> across the country, in urban and rural areas.  But such a
> percentage might be found among children in poor urban areas across
> Europe.
>
> Margarida Carvalho e Silva        msilva@esb.ucp.pt      msilva@igc.org
> Escola Superior de Biotecnologia         Universidade Catolica Portuguesa
> Rua Dr. Antonio Bernardino de Almeida    Tel: 351/2/558 0048
> P-4200 PORTO     PORTUGAL                Fax: 351/2/590 351
> ___________________________________________________________________
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