Millions of Americans Are Missing Their Full Potential
Are You One of Them?
When I was a kid, I prided myself on being smart. I was a nerd, the teacher’s pet, little miss know-it-all. I had no idea how annoying that must have been for everyone else around me (sorry, Meadowbrook Elementary School), but being smart was part of my identity. College brought my ego down to an acceptable level, thankfully. Yet, when I read a recent study that found 170 million Americans had lower IQ scores because of early childhood exposure to lead, I was mad. Because I’m probably one of them.
No amount of lead is safe for anyone, but children are especially vulnerable to its harmful effects. Children exposed to lead can experience behavioral problems, lower IQ, learning difficulties, and delayed development. The harm can last a lifetime. Children exposed to lead in childhood have a greater chance of developing chronic diseases later in life such as cardiovascular disease and dementia.
According to the study, exposure to lead lowered IQ by an average of 2.6 points per person by 2015. That’s not enough to have a noticeable impact on most people and is within the error range of the IQ test itself. The absolute number almost doesn’t matter. It’s about being robbed of our potential as human beings before we’re even old enough to understand what our potential might be. It’s about…
