The Effect of Lead Exposure: Cause of Crime Issue in America?
January 21st, 2015
We came across an article from Mother Jones that caught our attention this week. We know that the ingestion of lead can cause serious health issues, especially in children – learning disabilities, damage to the liver and damage to the kidneys. But, the effect lead exposure can have on human behavior may have more of an impact than once thought. Is it possible that lead ingestion can influence people to commit criminal behavior?
Today, we use unleaded gasoline in our vehicles, but as late as 40 years ago, lead was present in emissions from cars and trucks. This means that people were likely to breathe the toxin everyday if they lived near a busy roadway. Is this the cause of a significant portion of violent crime from the 1960s to the 1980s?
The Evidence
In the 1990’s, cities across America began to see a dramatic decrease in the amount of violent crimes committed. At first, people thought that this was caused by increased police presence and improved political policies from government leaders. Researcher for the US Department of Housing & Urban Development, Rick Melvin, took a different approach.
Melvin stated that lead emissions were at the highest levels between 1940 and the mid 1970s. Crime rates across the country rose dramatically from the 1960s through the 1980s. As mentioned before, the crime rate quickly dropped in the 1990s. Melvin pointed out that the amount of leaded gas being used had an almost identical graph arc to the amount of violent crimes being committed 20 years later.
Karl Smith, a professor at North Carolina – Chapel Hill, explains that this could be classified as an epidemic. He says that “If it travels along major transportation routes, the cause is microbial. Think influenza. If it spreads out like a fan, the cause is an insect. Think malaria. But if it’s everywhere, all at once—as both the rise of crime in the ’60s and ’70s and the fall of crime in the ’90s seemed to be—the cause is a molecule.”
Studies were broadened into an international level. Across the board, children who had higher levels of lead in their bloodstream were more likely to commit a violent crime in their adulthood. It may explain why cities have a higher concentration of these incidents – more vehicles producing lead fumes will lead to a high level of exposure to children in the area, thus more crimes are committed.
Prevent Lead Exposure with Get the Lead Out
Lead paint and lead in water poses less of a threat than leaded gasoline did, but it is important to limit exposure to this substance as much as possible. Get the Lead Out has more than 20 years of experience and will report all problem areas we find and offer solutions to resolve any lead contamination issues.
We are based in Charlotte, but perform home inspections all across the Carolinas. For more information regarding lead exposure prevention or to make an appointment for an inspection, please call (704) 376-3594.