Economic Impact of Lead Poisoning

A recent study investigating the economic impact of childhood lead exposure on national economies in all low- and middle-income countries estimated a total cumulative cost burden of 977 billion international dollars per year. The study considered the neurodevelopmental effects on lead-exposed children, as measured by reduced IQ points, and it correlated lead exposure-related reductions in children’s IQ scores to reductions in lifetime economic productivity, as expressed in lifelong earning power. The study identified many different sources of lead exposure in children, with lead paint as one major source. Broken down by region, the economic burden of childhood lead exposure as estimated by this study was:

Asia: $699.9 billion of economic loss, or 1.88 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) Africa: $134.7 billion of economic loss, or 4.03 per cent of GDP Latin America and the Caribbean: $142.3 billion of economic loss, or 2.04 per cent of GDP