Document Z4YxmdovenbXd6n5eqGp58ngV

'v.o " Sugar in milk is linked to increase in the retention of lead in babies The Associated Press old, lead-based paint as it flakes oft very complex and what we are say- walls. ing ... is that we should kuk at the WASHINGTON -- The sugar in Drs. Philip J. Bushnell and Hector -components to see what each does." milk increases Ihc body's absorption F. DcLuca said that white milk is Bushnell said milk is rich in min- and retention of lead, and this nay generally good for children, its rule erats that appear to have a proiec- help explain why. pabies are more in lead poisoning has been ques- live effect against lead. susceptible (o lead poiwning than Honed because of conflicting test re- "On the one hand, its lactose con older children; scientists i eported to sults. Some show milk protects--tent'-would enhance absorption of day. against absorbing lead.-wttfle others lead, as fiiidwn here, whereas its But despite the findings, research say it increases..the amount of the high concentrations of calcium, ers at the University ot Wisconsin at toxic substqncE the body retains. phosphorus, xinctuid protein would Madison said more study is needed Depending .upon circumstances, be expected to reduce the retention to determine the overall effect of Bushdell said in a telephone inter of lead," the scientists said in a re milk. view, milk apparently can do both port published in Science magazine. The researchers sdid experiments, -'But the exact reasons milk appears Bushnell said milkprobably would with rat pups show t*at the milk sugt to have opposite effects is unknown, be protective against! lead poisoning ar lactose greatTM increases,- the he added. if (here were no lead in it to begin amount of orally iagested^eSd the Bushnell said the pre-weaning diet with. intestines absorb. Mid tissues appar of most babies consists almost exclu "Normally, there isn't much lead ently keep more lend because more sively of milk, younger children ab in milk," he said, "but there may be is taken into the bdtty through the in sorb much more lead than older ones a problem in some canned milk in testine, they added. and it can do more damage to them, which there may be lead in the sol Too much learn can cause brain he said. der" used to seal the can. damage and sometimes death. Lead "Maybe this is due to consuming There also are other ways in poisoning can lead to neurological so much milk, but this is what we which lead can get into milk, he problems and retardation. The con, are looking into," Bushnell said. caidi but whatever the source, the dilion has been tied to children "We really don't know the overall important thing is that the lactose breathing lead pollutants and eating i effect of milk," he said. "Milk is sugar could help it gel into the body. AffJuentKlds A lso Harmed fluent families, like poorer children, ingest lead from automobile emissions and from leaded paint. "A General Ignorance" By Nan c y Nussea ,\rnjffRcjMirirf af Tmk W*14. St h k k t Jo w imi. l/mg percelvedj&^-peTIMaclng only ghetto dwellers, gad poisoning ins started turning up In Ihe home!, 01 Ull! Affluent. 1 In Washington, D.C.. a professional cou ple in a partly renovatrd neighborhood no ticed that one u( Uieir tUght-month-old twins was growing more slowly and eating less than the other. At first they blamed the va-, garies n( infants. But Itllnrned out that (he child had an unusually ligh level of lead ta bor blued, presumably Iram eating leaded-- liaint dust that accumnllled as the walls of their house were being slnded. I Another Washington ibuple, who live In a IKish sccltnii of Capital I IN. found that their . tmmtnUy agreeable thiel yearold had sud denly turned eantankeplis, a symptom ol lead poisoning. The chiM had swallowed enough toxin from sucking on a lead-painted gate to cause slight learning disabilities. These families aren't llono. Dr. Vernon I hoik, director nt riiritonifcenial licallh ser "There's a general ignorance about it among the middle class," says Devca Lee Davis, director ol toxic substances for the environmental Law Institute In Washington. "They Just don't think it happens to their own kids.'' The result, she says. Is that lead- diseased middle-class children can go un checked by both parents and pediatricians. Absorbed by eating- or breathing, lead mainly affects children, particularly those with iron deficiencies. It can cause head aches, vomiting and behavioral problems such as hyperactivity and shortened atlen-. Hon span as well as minor or severe brain damage' and death. The toxin Is fotmd In air, soil and such products as batteries, tin cans, water pipes, pesticides and, most notably,: leaded paint. ' The greatest danger comes from paint' that's still around from before World War II, when many paints contained lots ol lead.' The paint can chip off walls that are poorly maintained or can turn Into dost when build- hum are renovated. In the 1940s. paints con taining lead pigment were banned. Then, In 1977, the use of lead as a drying -agent In paint was also prohibited. But paint that contains lead Is still sold in some stores. Behavioral Problems Among 3,000 Children With Low And High Lead Levels tow Hob tzaHHI Utan) Dislractible......................... ..14 36 Hot p9tSi$(enl................ ...C 21 Oop^nd^nt........................... 23 ..................... .10 Hyperactive......................... Impulsive............................. 20 16 25 Easily Iruslrated................. ..11 Daydreams) .................... 25 34 Does not follow; Simple directions.......... Sequence ol directions ..12 14 34 Low overall lonclioninq.. ...a 26 Swne. J/ fnpfenif JoutoM yt MfHfccuw vices at .tlie Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, says that "lead toxicity is not. as I unco ileKight, tnuiineil to lower tarume urbaifaieas," altlinngh it Is still concentrated I lie-re II- revs, IVil In cMles. chil'hen ill af Lead can he removed from the body through chemical Injections, a process called chelating that's normally used only when lead levels exceed S5 micrograms per 100 milliliters. Some of Ihe behavioral and learning problems that result from lead poi soning can be corrected through special edu cation. Dr. Houk says, but reduction In Intel ligence Is irreversible. New. Studies The discovery that lead threatens chil dren at all economic levels follows new esti mates ol its effects. In the past lew years, some researchers have concluded that small amounts ol lead, which were once consid ered harmless, can cause slight brain dam age and behavioral problems. For example. Dr. Hmik says, mure than oil niirrngrmns ut lead, a level found to 1"- lo 3", uf U.S. children, can lead lo hyperac tivity and reduction of Intelligence, atten tiveness and nieinoty- He says there's also concern, though no proof, that 19 micrograms of lead-beluw the average found in the bluodstrennis n| city youth and equal to amount in rural children-can produce same results. ar Houk cites a study of LOCO children to LX suburbs ot Chelsea aad SomerMhat found that those with Mtjlwrtoad els scored an average of four po>tas ier on intelligence tests and had mere be* 55iriBaBS cdleman, a Harvard royehlatrtst. the 1W idv was a major breakthrough. Dr. Houx ittodtoSfd that the lead levels olchilen'with learning disabilities were well be* wlevels tbattad been thought harmless. a iw study conducted on the suburbs of irmKn E"kland. apparently dupU.... eup Needleman results. The study w w*n reteased yet, but its director. ' Ph-osi' Tom n pope . ( * lead levels lo such damage dpein'l reflect creucntvonr tokfntohwelegdrgoeu/p*'ssaey^sdronmeMaPheAllh division. He dies a ree/ft review ul M stad^ irs on lead's elleels tlfel was publish*! Iasi November by rescarelicrs from ihe Univer sity of Cincinnati and the Environmental Protection Agency. The review found Ural onto W,V live ol the.2.2..s.tud.i1esikw.efrfenmcthodIoUlo!Ag_i- levels to (Minting and beJwvii;ji Iu any rase. the children of middU'-rlass Jamilics are rarely srr<*eni*d lor any arnmitst o( lead (SuvcromMil |imje<*ts to hnjUeJrnlHjtoi^u^i rlUMren ait* carried <mi ikrfnlglt MwUcaitNtiitl oilier .vM-iiil-welfare programs. And Mu* housing and I'tlum l)e* veVijmioul Do|K\rtnH*u\s Htmi to rid li>msvs of leatled paint applies only t< federally owned housing. thereby deluding must mid* dledass homes. Mrs. Jkivis mainlniits. ifotiigh. that ghettu rhildieu dmi`1 (are iwi'lt fiettei Ilian NiidtUc-t'kiss kills Imt ih in o Whitts to locate and treat lead-diseased rfiifdtcti ate iiiade- quale. She says most rtlies dmi't romhirt any sereejiiny programs. ami at best only about 3*; of Ihe nathm's children under six a* lesled lor lead. N39151