Lead poisoning epidemics

Lead poisoning epidemics refer to specific instances of mass lead poisoning. These events often occur without the knowledge of the communities they affect. Common causes of lead poisoning epidemics include mining, lead recycling, and food/water contamination.[1] These events also cause disproportionate childhood fatalities as children are more susceptible to lead poisoning than adults.[1][2]

Notable poisoning events

This list does not include events wherein fewer than 100 people were affected, individual lead paint poisoning cases, or lead poisoning resulting from the consumption of contaminated food or water, such as the Flint water crisis. The cases below are discrete events of mass lead poisonings.

Large-scale lead poisoning events
Name of event Year Country City # Tested high* # deaths Source of lead exposure Comments Ref.
Đông Mai 2015 Vietnam Đông Mai 102 0 Auto-battery recycling Ongoing [3]
El Paso/Juarez 1974 USA/Mexico El Paso, Texas 391 0 Lead smelter Plant closed [4]
Fiengxiang 2009 China Shaanxi 851+[note 1] 0 Lead smelter [5]
Hunan 2008 China Hunan 1354+[note 2] 0 Manganese factory [6]
Jiyuan 2009 China Jiyuan 1000 0 Lead smelter 99.7% of children poisoned [7]
Doe Run 2004 Peru La Oroya 100's 0 Lead smelter Plant closed [8]
Michoacán 2009? Mexico Michoacán 311 0 Lead-glazed pottery Ongoing [9]
Santo Amaro 1985 Brazil Bahia 555 0 Lead smelter [10]
Thiaroye-sur-Mer 2008 Senegal Thiaroye, Dakar 150+ 18 Auto-battery recycling Closed [11]
Torreón 2000 Mexico Torreón 11181 0 Lead smelter [12]
Zamfara 2010 Nigeria Zamfara 1000+ 163–400 Artisanal mining Ongoing [13]
Kabwe 2013 Zambia Kabwe 1000+ 0 Lead mining and smelter [14][15]
Tianshui kindergarten 2025 China Tianshui 247+[note 3] 0 Food (As reported by government) [16]


Notes

  1. ^ The number only counts children. There were also adults affected, including employees.
  2. ^ The number only counts children. There were also adults affected, including employees.
  3. ^ The number only counts children. There were also adults affected, including employees.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Lead poisoning". World Health Organization. 11 August 2023.
  2. ^ Abelsohn, Alan; Sanborn, Margaret (June 2010). "Lead and children: Clinical management for family physicians". Canadian Family Physician. 56 (6): 531–535. PMC 2902938. PMID 20547517.
  3. ^ Daniell, William E.; Tung, Lo Van; Wallace, Ryan M.; Havens, Deborah J.; Karr, Catherine J.; Diep, Nguyen Bich; Croteau, Gerry A.; Beaudet, Nancy J.; Bao, Nguyen Duy (2015-10-26). "Childhood Lead Exposure from Battery Recycling in Vietnam". BioMed Research International. 2015 193715. doi:10.1155/2015/193715. PMC 4637436. PMID 26587532.
  4. ^ Ordóñez, Blanca Raquel; Romero, Lidia Ruiz; Mora, Refugio (2003). "Investigación epidemiológica sobre niveles de plomo en la población infantil y en el medio ambiente domiciliario de Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, en relación con una fundición de El Paso, Texas". Salud Pública de México. 45: 281–295. doi:10.1590/S0036-36342003000800015. ISSN 0036-3634.
  5. ^ China uses fear to hush up poisoned children
  6. ^ Watts, Jonathan; correspondent, Asia environment (2009-08-20). "1,300 Chinese children near smelter suffer lead poisoning". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-19. {{cite news}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ "China to move residents from lead smelter base-report". Reuters. 2009-10-19. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  8. ^ Fraser, Barbara (2009-07-01). "La Oroya's Legacy of Lead". Environmental Science & Technology. 43 (15): 5555–5557. Bibcode:2009EnST...43.5555F. doi:10.1021/es901734g. PMID 19731644.
  9. ^ Fernandez, G. O.; Martinez, R. R.; Fortoul, T. I.; Palazuelos, E. (1997-02-01). "High blood lead levels in ceramic folk art workers in Michoacan, Mexico". Archives of Environmental Health. 52 (1): 51–55. doi:10.1080/00039899709603800. ISSN 0003-9896. PMID 9039858.
  10. ^ Lalor, G. C.; Vutchkov, M. K.; Bryan, S. T.; Christie, C. D. C.; Donaldson, D.; Young, J.; Chambers, S. (2006-12-01). "Acute lead poisoning associated with backyard lead smelting in Jamaica". The West Indian Medical Journal. 55 (6): 394–398. doi:10.1590/s0043-31442006000600005 (inactive 12 July 2025). ISSN 0043-3144. PMID 17691233.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  11. ^ Jones, Donald E.; Diop, Assane; Block, Meredith; Smith-Jones, Alexander; Smith-Jones, Andrea (2011). "Assessment and Remediation of Lead Contamination in Senegal". Journal of Health and Pollution. 1 (2): 37–47. doi:10.5696/2156-9614.1.2.37.
  12. ^ US Centers for Disease Control (203). "Blood Lead Levels and Risk Factors for Lead Poisoning Among Children in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico" (PDF). United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Environmental Health, Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch/Health Studies Branch.
  13. ^ "WHO | Nigeria: mass lead poisoning from mining activities, Zamfara State". www.who.int. Archived from the original on July 8, 2010. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  14. ^ Yabe, John; Nakayama, Shouta M. M.; Ikenaka, Yoshinori; Yohannes, Yared B.; Bortey-Sam, Nesta; Oroszlany, Balazs; Muzandu, Kaampwe; Choongo, Kennedy; Kabalo, Abel Nketani (2015-01-01). "Lead poisoning in children from townships in the vicinity of a lead–zinc mine in Kabwe, Zambia". Chemosphere. 119: 941–947. Bibcode:2015Chmsp.119..941Y. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.028. hdl:2115/58817. PMID 25303652. S2CID 267070208.
  15. ^ "Notes from the Field: Severe Environmental Contamination and Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children — Zambia, 2014". www.cdc.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
  16. ^ "甘肅天水幼兒園｢247名幼兒血鉛異常｣　天水市委書記等10人被問責" [Lead Abnormalities Found in 247 Kindergarten Children in Tianshui, Gansu; Party Secretary and Nine Others Held Accountable]. HK01. 20 July 2025.
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