Scroll below to find an up to date list of research, briefs, reports, fact sheets, guidance documents, working papers, case studies, and public education materials on lead poisoning.
For Pure Earth’s research, click here.
Peer-reviewed Research
2023
Contaminant Metals as Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association, Journal of the American Heart Association
Childhood Lead Poisoning 1970-2022: Charting Progress and Needed Reforms, David E Jacobs,
The association between lead exposure and crime: A systematic review, Maria Jose Talayero et al., PLOS Global Public Health
Food safety policy enforcement and associated actions reduce lead chromate adulteration in turmeric across Bangladesh, Jenna Forsyth et al., Environmental Research
Association between toxic metals, vitamin D and preterm birth in the Maternal-Infant research on environmental chemicals study, Mandy Fisher et al., Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology
2022
Pollution and health: a progress update. Fuller R, Landrigan PJ, Balakrishnan K, Bathan G, Bose-O’Reilly S, Brauer M, Caravanos J, Chiles T, Cohen A, Corra L, Cropper M, Ferraro G, Hanna J, Hanrahan D, Hu H, Hunter D, Janata G, Kupka R, Lanphear B, Lichtveld M, Martin K, Mustapha A, Sanchez-Triana E, Sandilya K, Schaefli L, Shaw J, Seddon J, Suk W, Téllez-Rojo MM, Yan C. Lancet Planet Health. 2022 Jun;6(6):e535-e547. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(22)00090-0. Epub 2022 May 18. Erratum in: Lancet Planet Health. 2022 Jun 14;: PMID: 35594895.
Updated interim reference levels for dietary lead to support FDA’s Closer to Zero action plan, Brenna Flannery, Karlyn Middleton
Unequal airborne exposure to toxic metals associated with race, ethnicity, and segregation in the USA, Nature Communications
Health Remedies as a Source of Lead, Mercury, and Arsenic Exposure, New York City, 2010–2019, Paromita Hore,
Assessing Analytical Methods for the Rapid Detection of Lead Adulteration in the Global Spice Market, Alandra M. Lopez et al., Environmental Science and Technology
India: country report on children’s environmental health,
2021
Blood lead levels in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review. Ericson, Bret, et al. The Lancet Public Health, vol. 5, no. 3, 1 Mar. 2021, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30278-3 .
Child lead exposure near abandoned lead acid battery recycling sites in a residential community in Bangladesh: Risk factors and the impact of soil remediation on blood lead levels, Kamal Ibne Amin Chowdhury et al., Environmental Research
Association of blood lead levels with preeclampsia: A cohort study in China, Su Zhen Wu et al., Environmental Research
Lead and Cadmium as Cardiovascular Risk Factors: The Burden of Proof Has Been Met, Gervasio A. Lamas, Francisco Ujueta, Ana Navas‐Acien, Journal of the American Heart Association
2020
Recycling of scrap metal into artisanal cookware in the informal sector: A public health threat from multi metal exposure in South Africa, Renée Street et al., Science of the Total Environment
2019
A Spoonful of Lead: A 10-Year Look at Spices as a Potential Source of Lead Exposure, Paromita Hore,
Turmeric means “yellow” in Bengali: Lead chromate pigments added to turmeric threaten public health across Bangladesh, Jenna Forsyth et al., Environmental Research
Sources of Blood Lead Exposure in Rural Bangladesh, Jenna Forsyth et al., Environmental Science and Technology
Assessment of the prevalence of lead-based paint exposure risk in Jakarta, Indonesia. Science of The Total Environment. Ericson B, Hariojati N, Susilori B, Fisher Crampe L, Fuller R, Taylor MP, and Caravanos J. ; 657.
Improving and Expanding Estimates of the Global Burden of Disease Due to Environmental Health Risk Factors. Environmental Health Perspectives. Shaffer R, Sellers S, Fuller R, et al. Oct 2019; 127(10).
Reporte nacional de niveles de plomo en sangre y uso de barro vidriado en población infantil vulnerable (National report of lead levels in blood and use of lead-glazed pottery in vulnerable children), download pdf, Salud Publica (Public Health Mexico), Téllez-Rojo MM, Bautista Arredondo LF, Trejo Valdivia B, Cantoral A, Estrada Sánchez D, Kraiem R, Pantic I, Rosa Parra A, Gómez-Acosta LM, Romero Martínez M, Cuevas-Nasu L, Shamah-Levy T, Fuller R, Tamayo and Ortiz M.
2018
Prevalence of elevated blood lead levels among pregnant women and sources of lead exposure in rural Bangladesh: A case control study, Jenna Forsyth et al., Environmental Research
Sex-Dependent Effects of Developmental Lead Exposure on the Brain, Garima Singh et al., Frontiers in Genetics
A meta-analysis of blood lead levels in India and the attributable burden of disease, Bret Ericson et al., Environment International
Low-level lead exposure and mortality in US adults: a population-based cohort study, Bruce Lanphear, MD et al., Lancet Public Health
Lead and the Heart: an Ancient Metal’s Contribution to Modern Disease, Philip Landrigan, The Lancet Public Health, vol. 3, no. 4, doi:10.1016/s2468-2667(18)30043-4.
Lead intoxicated children in Kabwe, Zambia. Environmental Research. Bose-O’Reilly S, Yabe J, Makumba J, Schutzmeier P, Ericson B, Caravanos J.
Pollution and non-communicable disease: time to end the neglect. The Lancet Planetary Health. Fuller R, Rahona E, Fisher S. March 2018; 2(3).
Cost effectiveness of environmental lead risk mitigation in low‐ and middle‐income countries. (download pdf) GeoHealth. Ericson B, Caravanos J, et al. : 2(2)
Improving human health outcomes with a low-cost intervention to reduce exposures from lead acid battery recycling: Dong Mai, Vietnam. Environmental Research. Ericson B, Duong T, et al. ; 161
Blood lead levels of children in Flint, Mich.:2006-2016. Gomez, H., et.al., The Journal of Pediatrics.
2017
A meta-analysis of blood lead levels in India and attributable burden of disease Conference Paper: International Conference of the Public Health Foundation of India and the Pacific Basin Consortium. New Delhi, India.
Intelligence Quotient loss in the children of Mexican ceramicists, Estrada-Sanchez, D., Ericson, B., Juarez-Perez, C.A., Aguilar-Madrid, G., Hernandez, L., Gualtero, S., Caravanos, J., Revista Medica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguo Social, 55 (3), 292-299.
The Lancet Commission on pollution and health. Landrigan PJ, Fuller R, Acosta NJR, Adeyi O, Arnold R, Basu NN, Baldé AB, Bertollini R, Bose-O’Reilly S, Boufford JI, Breysse PN, Chiles T, Mahidol C, Coll-Seck AM, Cropper ML, Fobil J, Fuster V, Greenstone M, Haines A, Hanrahan D, Hunter D, Khare M, Krupnick A, Lanphear B, Lohani B, Martin K, Mathiasen KV, McTeer MA, Murray CJL, Ndahimananjara JD, Perera F, Potočnik J, Preker AS, Ramesh J, Rockström J, Salinas C, Samson LD, Sandilya K, Sly PD, Smith KR, Steiner A, Stewart RB, Suk WA, van Schayck OCP, Yadama GN, Yumkella K, Zhong M. Lancet. 2018 Feb 3;391(10119):462-512. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32345-0. Epub 2017 Oct 19. Erratum in: Lancet. 2018 Feb 3;391(10119):430. PMID: 29056410.
2016
Lead Contamination in Flint–An Abject Failure to Protect Public Health, David C Bellinger, New England Journal of Medicine
Estimating the prevalence of toxic waste sites in low- and middle-income countries. Annals of Global Health. Dowling R, Caravanos J, Grigsby P, Rivera A, Ericson B, et al. ; 82(5).
The global burden of lead toxicity attributable to informal used lead-acid battery sites. (download pdf) Annals of Global Health. Ericson B, Landrigan P, Taylor MP, Frostad J, Caravanos J, Keith J, Fuller R.; 82(5).
Risk factors for children’s blood lead levels in metal mining and smelting communities in Armenia: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. Grigoryan R, Petrosyan V, Melkomian D, et al.; 16.
Burden of disease resulting from lead exposure at toxic waste sites In Argentina, Mexico and Uruguay. Environmental Health. Caravanos J, Carrelli J, Dowling R, Pavilonis B, Ericson B, Fuller R. June 2016; 15(72). (Infographic)
Protecting communities by remediating polluted sites worldwide. Institution of Civil Engineers – Civil Engineering. Hanrahan D, Ericson B, Caravanos J. May 2016; 169(5). (pdf)
2014
Intervention Model for Contaminated Consumer Products: A Multifaceted Tool for Protecting Public Health, Paromita Hore,
Assessment of Sustainable Collection and Recycling Policy of Lead-Acid Accumulators from the Perspective of System Dynamics Modelling, A. Blumberga et al., Chemical Engineering Transactions
Blood lead levels and health problems of lead acid battery workers in Bangladesh, Sk Akhtar Ahmad et al., Scientific World Journal
Management of used lead acid battery in China: Secondary lead industry progress, policies and problems, Xi Tian et al., Resources, Conservation, and Recycling
Examination of lead concentrations in new decorative enamel paints in four countries with different histories of activity in lead paint regulation, C. Scott Clark et al., Environmental Research
The pediatric burden of disease from lead exposure at toxic waste sites in low and middle income countries. Environmental Research Chatham-Stephens K, Caravanos J, Ericson B, Landrigan P, Fuller R. July 2014; 132.
Blood Lead Levels in Mexico and Pediatric Burden of Disease Implications. Annals Of Global Health. Caravanos J, et al. 2014; 4.
Niveles de Plomo en Sangre en México y su Implicación para la Carga Pediátrica de la Enfermedad. Annals Of Global Health. Caravanos J, et al.; 4.
2013
Economic costs of childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries,
Health hazards of China’s lead-acid battery industry: a review of its market drivers, production processes, and health impacts, Tsering Jan van der Kujip, Lei Huang, Christopher R. Cherry, Environmental Health
Assessing Levels of Lead Contamination in Soil and Predicting Pediatric Blood Lead Levels in Tema, Ghana, Aboh, Innocent Joy Kwame; Sampson, Manukure Atiemo; Nyaab, Leticia Abra-Kom; Caravanos, Jack; Ofosu, Francis Gorman; Kuranchie-Mensah, Harriet (2013-06-01), Journal of Health and Pollution. 3 (5): 7–12. doi:10.5696/2156-9614-3.5.7. ISSN 2156-9614
2012
Trace Element Contamination around the e-Waste Recycling Site at Agbogbloshie, Accra City, Ghana, Otsuka M, Itai, T, Asante, KA, Muto, M, Tanabe, S. Interdisciplinary Studies on Environmental Chemistry—Environmental Pollution and Ecotoxicology, TERRAPUB 2012; 161-167.
2011
Assessing Worker and Environmental Chemical Exposure Risks at an e-Waste Recycling and Disposal Site in Accra, Ghana, Caravanos, Jack; Clark, Edith; Fuller, Richard; Lambertson, Calah (2011-02-01), Journal of Health and Pollution. 1(1): 16–25. doi:10.5696/jhp.v1i1.22. ISSN 2156-9614.
2009
Mass lead intoxication from informal used lead-acid battery recycling in Dakar, Senegal, Pascal Haefliger et al., Environmental Health Perspectives
Childhood lead poisoning: conservative estimates of the social and economic benefits of lead hazard control, Elise Gould, Environmental Health Perspectives
Trends in Preschool Lead Exposure, Mental Retardation, and Scholastic Achievement: Association or Causation? Rick Nevin, Environmental Research, vol. 109, no. 3, 2009, pp. 301–310., doi:10.1016/j.envres.2008.12.003.
2004
Estimating the global burden of disease of mild mental retardation and cardiovascular diseases from environmental lead exposure, L J Fewtrell et al., Environmental Research
2000
Lead poisoning in a historical perspective, Sven Hernberg, American Journal of Industrial Medicine
“Cater to the children”: the role of the lead industry in a public health tragedy, 1900-1955., G Markowitz and D Rosner, American Journal of Industrial Medicine
1999
Follow-up screening of lead-poisoned children near an auto battery recycling plant, Haina, Dominican Republic. Kaul B, Sandhu RS, Deprattt C, Reyes F, Environ Health Perpect 107:917-920
1996
The Basel Convention: effect on the Asian secondary lead industry, J.W. Elmer, Journal of Power Sources
Bone lead levels and delinquent behavior, Needleman, H., Riess, J., Tobin, M., Biesecker, G., and Greenhouse, J, JAMA
1990
The long-term effects of exposure to low doses of lead in childhood. An 11-year follow-up report. Needleman HL et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 322(2):83–88.
Briefs
2023
Addressing the Global Lead Poisoning Crisis to Ensure Thriving Childhoods and Lifelong Health, T20 Policy Brief, Rachel Silverman Bonnifield, Center for Global Development
Reports
2023
Exposure to Lead Paint in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Rethink Priorities
2022
Lead as a major threat for human health and the environment – an integrated approach strengthening cooperation toward solutions,
Assessment of Lead Impact on Human and India’s Response, NITI Aayog, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
Electronic Waste Management for Off-grid Solar Solutions in Displacement Settings, GPA Coordination Unit
2021
Global Lead Regulation Profiles, Global Lead Forum
Update on the global status of legal limits on lead in paint, World Health Organization
Global Lead Exposure Report,
National Strategy for Used Lead Acid Battery (ULAB) Recycling in Bangladesh: A Sustainable Strategy for ULAB Waste Management, United Nations Environment Programme, Environment and Social Development Organization (Environment and Social Development Organization)
2020
The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future Potential. UNICEF and Pure Earth (2020).
2020 Update on the Global Status of Legal Limits on Lead in Paint, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint (Lead Paint Alliance)
Brief guide to analytical methods for measuring lead in paint, 2nd ed, World Health Organization
2019
Pollution Knows No Borders. Pure Earth and the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution.
Leaded Batteries: Mapping The Toxic Waste Trail, Toxics Link
Trade and Recycling of Used Lead Acid Batteries (ULAB) in Nigeria, Recycling and Economic Development Initiative of Nigeria, Alliance for Responsible Battery Recycling
“We have to be worried”: The Impact of Lead Contamination on Children’s Rights in Kabwe, Zambia, Human Rights Watch
2017
Recycling used lead-acid batteries: health considerations, World Health Organization
2016
Global Report on the Status of Legal Limits on Lead in Paint, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Baseline Assessment on E-waste Management in Ghana, Sampson Atiemo et al., Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI)
2015
The recycling chain for used lead-acid batteries in Ghana, Oko-Insitut
Lead exposure in African children: contemporary sources and concerns, World Health Organization
2012
NTP Monograph on Health Effects of Low-Level Lead, US Department of Health and Human Services
2010
Childhood lead poisoning, World Health Organization
Fact Sheets
2022
India’s Lead Crisis: A Call to Action, Pure Earth
2021
Reducing the Threat of Toxic Pollution to Women and Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, Pure Earth
Pollution: A Critical Link for Achieving the SDGs, Pure Earth
Pollution in the Kitchen, Pure Earth
2020
Mainstreaming gender into chemical and waste policy, HEJSupport
The Global Burden of Disease from Lead Pollution, Pure Earth and the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution
Guidelines
2022
A Guidance Manual for Policymakers and Regulators for the Environmentally Sound Management of Waste or Used Lead Acid Batteries in Africa, UN Environment Programme
2021
WHO Guideline for Clinical Management of Exposure to Lead: Executive Summary, World Health Organization
2020
Brief guide to analytical methods for measuring lead in blood, 2nd edition, World Health Organization
2016
CEC. 2016. Environmentally Sound Management of Spent Lead-acid Batteries in North America: Technical Guidelines. Montreal, Canada: Commission for Environmental Cooperation
2012
Lead Screening During Pregnancy and Lactation, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
2010
Guidance for Industry; The Safety of Imported Traditional Pottery Intended for Use With Food and the Use of the Term “Lead Free” in the Labeling of Pottery; and Proper Identification of Ornamental and Decorative Ceramicware, US Food and Drug Administration
2007
WHO guidelines for assessing quality of herbal medicines with reference to contaminants and residues, World Health Organization
Public Education Materials
Working Papers
2023
How Much Would Reducing Lead Exposure Improve Children’s Learning in the Developing World?, Lee Crawfurd, Rory Todd, Susannah Hares, Justin Sandefur and Rachel Silverman, Center for Global Development
2021
Lead and Cardiovascular Mortality: Evidence Supports Lead as an Independent Cardiovascular Risk Factor, Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, US Environmental Protection Agency
2020
Consequences of a Mobile Future: Creating an Environmentally Conscious Life Cycle for Lead-Acid Batteries, World Economic Forum
2017
Lead and Juvenile Delinquency: New Evidence from Linked Birth, School and Juvenile Detention Records. NBER Working Paper No. 23392. Aizer, Anna; Currie, Janet
Case Studies
2021
Vital Strategies Reimagines Clinical Care Guidance for Childhood Lead Poisoning in Peru, Vital Strategies
2013
Childhood lead exposure associated with the use of kajal, an eye cosmetic from Afghanistan – Albuquerque, New Mexico, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Public Education Materials
Pure Earth’s public education materials
Lead Exposure, American Academy of Pediatrics
Lead Toxicity, ASTDR, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, New York City Department of Health
Community Action Toolkit: A Roadmap for Using Environmental Rights to Fight Pollution, World Resources Institute
Lead, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Lead, US Environmental Protection Agency
Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention