Lead Poisoning Prevention: On the Threshold of New Initiatives and Discoveries

Arranger: A. Korchevskiy, Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO. Moderator: D. Goldsmith, George Washington University, Washington, DC. Monitors: D. Hall, C. Strode, Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO.

Lead poisoning is a well-known and thoroughly studied problem. In 2012, the National Toxicology Program at NIH concluded that blood lead concentrations in children below 5 μg/dL were linked with cognitive deficits and those in adults, below 10 ug/dL, were linked with hypertension. In 2014, AIHA® adopted a new reference document related to lead poisoning issues in developing countries. In the same year, a draft position paper on the global elimination of lead poisoning was submitted to the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE ). How should new information in lead toxicology be used by industrial hygienists working in the U.S. and overseas? Should the recent reduction of the children’s lead blood reference level from 10 µg/dL to 5 µg/dL by CDC warrant toughening of occupational health standards, as well? How would acceptance of “threshold” or “non-threshold” models of lead toxicity affect the industrial hygiene profession and occupational health activities? Would “banning” lead from different application be a right strategy? How to address the situations in different countries where children are adversely affected by environmental lead contamination? What are the implications and ramifications of emerging approaches in public health and medical interventions for lead poisoning cases? Are the issues of lead poisoning a new test of social corporate responsibility, and do investors know enough to estimate potential environmental risks for existing and future operations? Leading international experts, members of AIHA®, ISEE and other organizations, will have an opportunity to discuss the outstanding issues of lead poisoning prevention during this roundtable where different, sometimes contradictory, opinions will be presented.

New Horizons in Lead Poisoning Prevention: AIHA® Reference Document on Lead and its Meaning for Developing and Developed Countries
A. Korchevskiy, Chemistry & Industrial Hygiene, Inc., Wheat Ridge, CO.

Prevention and Treatment of Lead Poisoning: Implications of the Lower Level CDC Reference for Populations at Risk and Industrial Hygiene Priorities
A. Fischbein, BSD Biomedical LLC, Elad, Israel.

The Science of Low-level Lead Toxicity
D. Jacobs, National Center for Healthy Housing, Washington, DC.

A Call for the Global Elimination of Lead Poisoning
F. Rosenthal, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.

Policy and Science in Lead Poisoning Prevention: How to Make Good Intentions Work
D. Goldsmith, George Washington University, Washington, DC.