Various environmental agents impact human health. These include all forms of pollution, potential food poisoning, and contamination in different settings like homes and grocery stores. Water pollution can lead to lead poisoning as a health problem in the affected population (Hauptman et al., 2017). Such situations can lead to health disparities, as this discussion will demonstrate. Consumption of polluted water leads to many devastating health effects, including lead poisoning. The poisoning leads to the building up of lead in the human body over time, either months or years (Boskabady et al., 2018). Lead poisoning happens because water is contaminated by lead from paint and dust. Such water comes from old plumbing materials like water pipes and older buildings. Surface water can also contain contaminated water by lead.
Exposure to lead causes over 140,000 deaths across the world in a year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) observes that over 500,000 children between 1 and 5 years possess high lead levels in their blood that can impact their health and affect their overall growth and development (CDC, 2021). Over 13,000 of these children experience high exposure to an environmental hazard. The CDC also asserts that more than 24 million homes have damaged lead-based paint and higher levels of lead-contaminated dust on their roofs. The medical and educational cost for every child exposed to lead is over $5,600 (CDC, 2021).
Young children are more susceptible to lead poisoning and are most impacted by health issues and comorbidities. These include damage to organs, delays in development, anemia, kidney disease, and disorders of the nervous system, as well as neurological changes (Manisalidis et al., 2020). While poisoning from lead affects every part of the body, the most affected is the nervous system leading to acute neurological and behavioral effects that include depression, slowed coordination of the nerves, dizziness, and fatigue. Children suffering from lead poisoning may have lower IQ, reduced ability to pay attention, hearing and speech challenges, learning and behavioral difficulties, and underperformance in school (WHO, 2021). While all people of all ages are susceptible to lead poisoning, children are more impacted due to the development of their brains.
The issue leads to health disparities in populations. The affected children and families may have disabilities and other cognitive problems, making it challenging to access expensive medical procedures that may help correct some effects (WHO, 2021). The implication is that lead poisoning affects the quality of life for the affected children. Further, it requires more resources to treat neurological conditions emanating from the problem.
Boskabady, M., Marefati, N., Farkhondeh, T., Shakeri, F., Farshbaf, A., & Boskabady, M. H.
(2018). The effect of environmental lead exposure on human health and the contribution of inflammatory mechanisms, a review. Environment international, 120, 404-420.