Despite the global ban on leaded petrol, lead pollution continues to take a huge toll on health and the economy, with low- and middle-income countries bearing the greatest burden, according to new research.
The study, led by Dr Chen Mengli of National University of Singapore’ Tropical Marine Science Institute, reveals that ongoing lead exposure among children costs the world an estimated US$3.4 trillion in lost economic potential every year – equivalent to more than 2% of global GDP.
The above image shows portable aerosol samplers with which the team collected air samples near a brick kiln. They also gathered samples from various locations, from busy city streets to remote oceans, to capture the current level of lead pollution.
To trace past levels, the team used natural archives like peat bogs and coral cores, whose layers reveal how lead pollution has changed through history.
The findings highlight how persistent contamination, unsafe recycling, and rising demand for batteries could entrench inequalities and reverse decades of progress in global child health.
Through its use in plumbing, paints, fuels and industry, lead has left behind a toxic legacy. While the 2021 phase-out of leaded petrol was hailed as one of the century’s greatest public health victories, researchers say celebrations were premature. While blood lead levels fell sharply in high-income nations, they have plateaued or even risen in parts of Asia, Africa,and Latin America.
Dr Chen said: ‘Lead exposure remains a silent pandemic. Many developing regions are now seeing a resurgence linked to informal recycling and legacy contamination.’
The report notes that global lead production now exceeds 16 million tonnes annually, with 85% used for lead-acid batteries powering vehicles and backup energy systems. But much of this recycling occurs in unsafe, poorly regulated conditions, often near homes and schools.
In these areas, children are particularly at risk, with even low-level exposure able to impair brain development, reduce IQ and cause irreversible learning and behavioural problems.
To combat the growing threat, the researchers call for a four-pronged strategy: tighter management of lead-containing products across their life cycle, elimination of unsafe and illicit recycling and manufacturing, stronger environmental monitoring using low-cost technologies, and better accounting of lead’s true social and economic costs.
Dr Chen added: ‘Recognising the continuing risk is the first step. If we fail to act, the global push for electrification could come at the expense of the next generation’s health.
‘The world rightly celebrated the phase-out of leaded gasoline as a triumph of international cooperation,” she said. “But the problem of lead exposure has not yet gone away. Unless we remain vigilant about both new sources of exposure and the legacy of lead in the environment, we may risk repeating the same tragedy.’
Also involved in the research were Imperial College London, University of Warwick, University of Oxford and University of Bristol
The full research can be read here.
Above photo: Dr Reshmi Das
Featured photo: RAJA-cse
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