Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population

[REWahoo]

This study reinforces the accuracy of both my sig lines:

Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says

Quote:

Leaded gas was banned in 1996, but exposure to the toxin cost people born before then several IQ points on average, researchers estimated.

[MRG]

Explains a lot.

[target2019]

Sunday visits to grandma's in the 3rd row of station wagon.
https://barnfinds.com/wood-applique-...ountry-squire/

Everyone except Mom and Dad got car sick. Lol

[mountainsoft]

I remember my dad pulling my sled behind the old 60's gas guzzler. I was grinning ear to ear while choking on the exhaust.

I also remember thinking it would be fun to ride in the back of my step dad's pickup truck. He had a canopy on the truck, so all the exhaust built up inside. I desperately opened the screened vents on the canopy and stuck my nose up to try and get some fresh air. No surprise, I never wanted to ride back there again.

With these and many similar situations, it's amazing I survived to adulthood.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo This study reinforces the accuracy of both my sig lines: Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says Quote: Leaded gas was banned in 1996, but exposure to the toxin cost people born before then several IQ points on average, researchers estimated.

Hmm!!! Well, if it "blunted" my IQ, then I never really needed those extra IQ points anyway. Still managed to meet and surpass all my goals in life.

Any extra IQ points beyond what I already have, would probably have resulted in me being bored most of the time. My mother's response to the eternal "I'm bored!" from her kids, was to assign us mountains of housework or yard work to do. So, it's not like I would have had a better or more productive life if I had more IQ points.

[Gumby]

When I was a boy in Hawaii back in the 60's, they used to spray DDT regularly to kill the mosquitos. So, periodically, a big tank/fogger truck would slowly drive through the neighborhood streets spewing thick clouds of blue smoke. We kids would run along behind it, dancing in and out of the clouds. Who knows what that did to us?

[JoeWras]

Back in the 70s, in Chicago, dandelions grew really well along the expressways. And actually, it was one of the areas that wasn't concrete and not frequently mowed. In early spring, before bloom, people would pick them for salad.

The authorities had to put out a lot of warnings about the practice. The dandelion leaves were oozing with lead from all the nearby exhaust.

[jim584672]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby When I was a boy in Hawaii back in the 60's, they used to spray DDT regularly to kill the mosquitos. So, periodically, a big tank/fogger truck would slowly drive through the neighborhood streets spewing thick clouds of blue smoke. We kids would run along behind it, dancing in and out of the clouds. Who knows what that did to us?

Same thing in New Jersey, kids chasing the bug truck. Insane.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim584672 Same thing in New Jersey, kids chasing the bug truck. Insane.

And then there were the kids chasing the bug truck (probably) on the dirt roads that were glued with extra contaminated waste oil.

Really tragic.

https://jalopnik.com/they-had-to-dem...roa-1488566724

Quote:

History notes, most tragically, that kids loved to play in Bliss' purple goop and it was years before anyone started to get sick or suspect that something was wrong with what the road crews were spreading all over town.

[ExFlyBoy5]

Well, I am thinking I am in trouble since I have pumped a lot of avgas (still a leaded fuel) over my lifetime.

[pacergal]

Amazing we all survived.
I am sure our house had lead paint for years, and I remember all the Dads in our neighborhood spraying yards for insects every few months, using that stinky bug stuff Malathion? DDT? who knows. We all breathed it in, as we were" playing outside until dark"!

[aja8888]

Popular Science, back in the day stuff.

dispose of oil.jpg

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo This study reinforces the accuracy of both my sig lines: Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says

When I was a teenager, I used to love the smell of gasoline. When dad stopped for gas, I would ask him if I could man the gas pump to whiff the gasoline fumes. I qualified as a Moderator here many years later so the TEL exposure was not that bad? I still can remember how to spell my name, too.

[acronymous]

PBS Independent Lens ran a sobering doc about the repurposing of Agent Orange for defoliation of clear cuts. Harrowing stuff:

https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/...-agent-orange/

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacergal We all breathed it in, as we were" playing outside until dark"!

Lemme guess: you were playing with Jarts (lawn darts)?

[finnski1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Lemme guess: you were playing with Jarts (lawn darts)?

Ahh yes Jarts. Those were fun. Best to throw them into a pool of mercury for better effect.

[NW-Bound]

Did we not also read about MJ stunting brain development of teenage users?

It sounds like combining lead and MJ could lead to interesting effects.


.

[pacergal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Lemme guess: you were playing with Jarts (lawn darts)?

Survived those things too!

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo Lemme guess: you were playing with Jarts (lawn darts)?

I still have mine from my reckless childhood. We still use them once in a blue moon, but it's a pain cleaning all the blood off of them when we are done and they can do a number on sprinkler heads.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gumby When I was a boy in Hawaii back in the 60's, they used to spray DDT regularly to kill the mosquitos. So, periodically, a big tank/fogger truck would slowly drive through the neighborhood streets spewing thick clouds of blue smoke. We kids would run along behind it, dancing in and out of the clouds. Who knows what that did to us?

That was a fairly common sight across many parts of the US.

According to this report, any negative effects seem to be pretty weak:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26008645/

Quote:

Results: Only nine studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria out of 3281 hits generated. Five of the studies are of high quality while four are of moderate quality. For the three studies on neurodevelopment, evidence suggestive of negative impact of DDT was found. For the three studies on endocrine/congenital disorders, ambivalent evidence existed. In the case of the immunity-related outcome, there was growing but insufficient evidence of negative effect. The only study on survival outcome was inconclusive. Conclusions: Empirically, insufficient evidence exists with regard to the chronic adverse effects of long-term exposure of children to DDT through IRS. Considering the dearth of studies and the fact that many adverse effects might take much longer time to manifest, inferences drawn are weak. It would therefore require a series of well-coordinated observational studies done in the context of IRS ( indoor residual spraying ) to adequately address this evidence gap in the future.

Not sure how indoor residual spraying compares to short term (likely higher) exposure. I think less is used, but the exposure would be longer.

-ERD50