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Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

pnas.org

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Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#41

Post by snypher »

eropple wrote: post #34
mindslight wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don’t let your neighbors DIY exterior painting, scraping, or demolition WTF? Yes, go ahead and advocate responsible techniques. But if you're the type of meddling busybody that harasses others just for working on their own homes, don't be surprised when nobody listens to you.

The poster to whom you are replying is completely correct. It's not the same thing as thinking the windows they're putting in are ugly. It's not even like asbestos mitigation, where stupid decisions there only really impact the people who live there. These are health and safety risks to people around you, not just you yourself. It's a community concern. Your neighbors' decisions around lead management and mitigation…

I'm sorry, can we go back to the part where i "don't let my neighbors" do something? Unless they are in violation of a law that is actually enforced by someone, I don't think I have standing to let or not let them do anything.

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#42

Post by [deleted] »

mindslight wrote: post #33
csee wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Negative externalities between neighbors is a thing. See noise pollution.

Yes, but by the time someone is trying to stop their neighbors from working on their own homes using the same mitigation techniques a licensed/insured contractor would, we're well past the point of discussing externalities and solidly into HOA-hellhole territory.

[deleted]

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#44

Post by sjmm1989 »

systemvoltage wrote: post #16
verelo wrote: post #6

I recall as a kid, soldering circuit boards. I distinctly remember the label "low lead" and also the smell of the smoke it made. At times, and this is stupid, i would find myself chewing on a piece of the unburnt solder as i debugged a circuit board. Mistakes were made...

Btw, solder fumes are not lead, but flux.

Good to know. I've always wondered, cause I accidentally got a good whiff of it once and ... my cheeks were red for what felt like hours or a day. My memory of it is hazy.

I've got ventilation going much stronger now.

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#45

Post by mindslight »

eropple wrote: post #34
mindslight wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Don’t let your neighbors DIY exterior painting, scraping, or demolition WTF? Yes, go ahead and advocate responsible techniques. But if you're the type of meddling busybody that harasses others just for working on their own homes, don't be surprised when nobody listens to you.

The poster to whom you are replying is completely correct. It's not the same thing as thinking the windows they're putting in are ugly. It's not even like asbestos mitigation, where stupid decisions there only really impact the people who live there. These are health and safety risks to people around you, not just you yourself. It's a community concern. Your neighbors' decisions around lead management and mitigation…

Sure, it's a community concern. This gives neighbors the right to express their concerns and offer advice and help, not to overbearingly insist that work is only done by "professionals" who magically bless the situation.

Legally, it's generally commercial activity (eg contractors) that is regulated. Thus, after you've talked to your neighbor about best practices for mitigating lead dust, you've effectively exhausted your options. After that point, not "letting" them DIY will basically consist of harassment.

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#46

Post by wpietri »

> This amounted to a total loss of 824,097,690 IQ points, disproportionately endured by those born between 1951 and 1980

That is interesting, but what I really wonder about is more subtle cognitive effects. Did it make people meaner? More easily led? Less collaborative?

And as previously discussed here, lead was a known toxin when leaded gas was invented: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/leaded-gas-poison-...

Discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28500508

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#47

Post by eropple »

snypher wrote: post #41
eropple wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The poster to whom you are replying is completely correct. It's not the same thing as thinking the windows they're putting in are ugly. It's not even like asbestos mitigation, where stupid decisions there only really impact the people who live there. These are health and safety risks to people around you, not just you yourself. It's a community concern. Your neighbors' decisions around lead management and mitigation…

I'm sorry, can we go back to the part where i "don't let my neighbors" do something? Unless they are in violation of a law that is actually enforced by someone, I don't think I have standing to let or not let them do anything.

In American jurisdictions of which I am aware, there are such laws around handling hazardous materials (and lead, especially in particulate form, qualifies). In hypothetical places where there aren't, the concept of a tort still exists.

You do, in fact, "have standing" to not have your neighbors poison you. This is a good thing. It should be celebrated.

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#48

Post by Alex3917 »

wpietri wrote: post #46

> This amounted to a total loss of 824,097,690 IQ points, disproportionately endured by those born between 1951 and 1980 That is interesting, but what I really wonder about is more subtle cognitive effects. Did it make people meaner? More easily led? Less collaborative? And as previously discussed here, lead was a known toxin when leaded gas was invented: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/leaded-gas-poison-..…

At the risk of stating the obvious, IQ points aren't a measure and adding them up doesn't yield a meaningful number. It's like adding up the numbers on football player's jerseys; if the total of a team's numbers goes up, that doesn't make the team better. Similarly, a reduction in the total amount of "IQ points lost" could easily correspond to more damage to cognitive intelligence caused by lead exposure.

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#49

Post by jljljl »

mindslight wrote: post #33
csee wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Negative externalities between neighbors is a thing. See noise pollution.

Yes, but by the time someone is trying to stop their neighbors from working on their own homes using the same mitigation techniques a licensed/insured contractor would, we're well past the point of discussing externalities and solidly into HOA-hellhole territory.

I think the point is that if they are _not_ using the same mitigation techniques, you have a right to prevent their DIY actions from poisoning you and your family. And if they don’t have a license or permit, how can you verify they are following best practice?

Led contamination risk is definitely more serious than HOA-hellhole

Re: Half of US population exposed to adverse lead levels in early childhood

#50

Post by xattt »

graeme wrote: post #2

Does anyone know if lead levels matter much in adulthood? Found out my local water had lead, old municipal pipes. Drank it about ten years. Or possibly just two. Either way, wondering if I should be concerned or do anything beyond filtering the water (which I do now)

I recently petitioned my local councillor to have my service line replaced at cost to the city. My only expense was to hire a plumber to do the connection to the house (several hundred bucks); digging was covered by them.
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