Save people, especially children, from lead poisoning

LIKE every year Bangladesh is observing the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW) that began on October 22 and will end on October 29.

Lead poisoning especially among children has a serious implication in the context of Bangladesh, and child rights campaigners and green activists at a national dialogue rightly urged the government to impose various pragmatic restrictions on lead import to the country as the heavy metal posed a severe threat on health of children and others.

Though lead poisoning has yet to become a popular topic for public discussion in Bangladesh, the fact is here 35 million children have blood lead levels that are too high.

Still, according to the Institute of Health Metrics Evaluation, the country has the world’s fourth-highest rate of death due to lead exposure. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to take actions in this regard.

But, as yet the government has not imposed any restriction on lead import.

At the programme of National Dialogue with Private Sector on Ending Childhood Lead Poisoning in Bangladesh at the DoE auditorium in the capital marking the international lead poisoning prevention week, the speakers pertinently urged the relevant authorities to impose high tax on the lead import.

Moreover, lead can be allowed only for particular purposes, setting the standard of its use.

Lead batteries and electrical devices were potential use of lead harming human health in Bangladesh.

As the informal recycling of the lead batteries is the most dangerous now, this has to be stopped forthwith as presence of lead beyond limit in the body can cause cancer, loss of memories and many other disabilities.

In Bangladesh, the presence of sold-out lead remains with surroundings can be best illustrated by the fact Battery producer, Rahimafrooz, fails to collect the batteries they sold out for a recycling purpose.

Moreover, local companies usually dispose of batteries in unsafe environments, collect those at a higher price from local people and spread lead to the surroundings.

Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need to make a policy aiming to stop lead poisoning to save the next generation. The sooner it is done, the better.