Benchmark: Policy on Preventing Lead Exposure

Benchmark: Policy on Preventing Lead Exposure
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Benchmark: Policy on Preventing Lead Exposure
The American Public Health Association (APHA) covers a broad spectrum of public health-related issues. One of the themes surrounds environmental health, where a range of topics such as Lead poisoning and contamination are explored. This paper will explore leadership as a critical ecological contaminant and one of the primary hazards to human health. In addition, Lead contamination poses health risks to many public health care systems, where the U.S. public healthcare is not spared from the potential risk of Lead.
Problem Statement
A chemical element found in the Carbon group with the symbol Pb, Lead, is a metallic component found in various products such as car radiators, paints, batteries, and pipes. Despite Lead critical use, it remains a toxic element that poses health problem concerns to the public. People are exposed to Lead by breathing in air and dust, drinking water, and taking food laced with a significant Lead level. Lead contamination indiscriminately affects the population, including children, pregnant women, and adults. The health risk associated with Lead has far-reaching, where slowed growth, lowered intelligence quotient, anemia, learning difficulties, cardiovascular outcomes, deranged kidney functions, and impaired reproductive function can be experienced by Lead contamination victims (APHA). Low-level environmental Lead exposure is critical but is often overlooked, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality in the USA (Lanphear et al., 2018). In animal systems, Lead (Pb) causes a broad spectrum of toxic effects. Exposure to Lead can culminate in a testicular function alteration in humans and animals (Assi et al., 2016). Hematopoietic, renal, reproductive, and central nervous systems show increased vulnerability to high Pb levels or toxicity (Assi et al., 2016). The increased Pb toxicity in food, air, water, or human environment can also contribute to adverse economic outcomes. Despite tremendous progress in U.S public health system, children remained poorly prevented from Lead poisoning, and the unpleasant occurrence of Lead poisoning continues to cast a pale shade in the U.S, where at least five hundred thousand American children have a blood lead level of >5 μg/dL (>50 ppb) (Lanphear, 2017). About 23 million homes have at least one form of Lead hazard, unknown population figures of Americans drink water from Lead service lines, and federal standards for Lead in house dust, soil, and water are insufficient to protect children (Lanphear, 2017). The failure to fully address the Lead problem could partly emanate from socio-economic inequities and inadequate policies geared towards fighting lead poisoning.
Existing federal and State Policies Regarding Lead Control
In light of public health dangers associated with Lead, U.S has adopted both federal and state laws and policies that relate to hazardous products such as Lead. At the federal level, there are various policies to control the use of Lead-associated products. Children are susceptible to the harmful effects of Lead. Children exposed to a substantial amount of Lead are pron...