Parents Exposure to Toxins Effect Children

A recent study revealed that parental workplace exposure to lead can result in lead poisoning in children.

Parents Exposure to Toxins Effect Children
Investigating high blood lead levels in two Ohio siblings (18 and 14 µg/dL, well above the 5 µg/dL level at which corrective action is needed), the authors found that the children’s father worked in an electronics recycling facility where cathode ray tubes were crushed. Cathode ray tubes are made from leaded glass. The father’s blood lead level was 25 µg/dL. After the father stopped working at the facility, the children’s lead levels dropped to 8.7 and 7.9 µg/dL.

An independent investigation of the facility identified high lead levels, including on workers’ hands even after they had washed with soap and water.

The authors conclude that parental occupational exposure should be considered when high lead levels are identified in children. They note that occupational measures are required to prevent take-home exposure because standard home cleaning is insufficient.

The lesson to be learned is that toxic exposure of various kinds effects more people than just the one initially exposed. One may speculate how a father’s workplace exposure effected his children, “even after they washed with soap and water,” but the fact remains. Heavy metal toxicity as well as other chemical poisons needs to be addressed.