New Research Shows Early Childhood Exposure to Lead Can Result in Juvenile and Adult Criminal Behavior

COLUMBIA, Md., July 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Are children exposed to lead at a young age more likely to commit crimes as juveniles and adults? A new study says yes.

Rick Nevin, an independent economic consultant and National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) senior advisor, compared trends in childhood lead exposure to crime rate trends over several decades in nine countries: USA, Britain, Canada, France, Australia, Finland, Italy, West Germany and New Zealand. In all countries, he found that the greater the exposure, the higher the crime rate. Nevin's analysis of USA city murder rates also shows that murder is especially associated with more severe childhood lead poisoning.

"The research shows a clear link between lead exposure and crime, not just in this country but eight others as well. Nevin's work demonstrates the need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to finalize rules to help prevent childhood exposure to lead during the renovation, painting and remodeling of older homes," said Rebecca Morley, NCHH Executive Director.

About 38 million U.S. homes still contain lead-based paint, which was banned for residential use in 1978. Of those, about 4 million are renovated each year, exposing many children to significant hazards when contractors fail to follow lead-safe work practices. The EPA rule that governs these practices has been delayed for over a decade due, in part, to industry opposition. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over 310,000 children in this country suffer from lead poisoning.

Lead contaminates household dust ingested by children as they crawl and engage in normal hand-to-mouth activity. Ingested lead travels through the bloodstream to the developing brain where elevated blood lead causes many neurological effects that can impair IQ, learning and behavior later in life, numerous studies have shown. Use of lead in paint in the U.S. peaked in the first half of the 20th century before the 1978 ban. Per capita use of lead in gasoline surged in the USA after World War II and rose at a slower rate in nations with lower per capita gasoline use. A phased-in ban of lead in gasoline in the USA began in the early 1980s.

One of the major findings showed that the level of lead found in preschoolers in the nine studied countries tracks the property and violent crime rate trends in those countries at the time these preschoolers became juveniles and young adults. Childhood exposure to leaded gasoline rose from the 1930s through 1970, and all of the nations studied had rising crime rates, as these children became juveniles and young adults.

A summary of other key findings from the Nevin study, information about the lack of EPA regulation of older home renovations and steps to take to protect children from lead poisoning are available on the NCHH website at:

http://www.centerforhealthyhousing.org/html/whats_new.htm