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A consultant at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street,
has been contacted and points out that the problem of lead poisoning
due to eating lead is much the major problem.
Dr B Gans, consultant paediatrician, at Lewisham Hospital, states
that standards of normal levels of lead in the blood are not
known, that most children he has checked had a level of 20 microgrammes
per 100 ml of blood, and that no one would consider treating
a case with a blood level below 60. He also pointed out that much
of this lead arises from eating lead rather than from inhalation.
A series of articles in 'Chemistry in Britain' and the 'New
Scientist and Science Journal' have proposed that lead from 'anti
knock petrol' is a growing and serious hazard in Britain. One of the
main points used was a graph showing the increase in lead found in
snow in Greenland. A reply to these articles gave the full details
which showed annual fluctuations but no trend to increase between
the years 1946 to 1965.
In Command 4373 'The tection of the Environment' the then
Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning
(May 1970) said: 'There is no evidence that cars add
significantly to the lead which occurs naturally in the soil or in
the vegetable food we eat. The Government will nevertheless
continue to keep this matter under review'.
In reply to a suggestion to the Scientific Adviser of the GLC that
Lewisham might be used for the purpose of testing the atmosphere
for lead, he regretted that the limited resources he could allocate
to the investigation of vehicle fumes were fully engaged and that he
is unable to undertake measurements in Lewisham.
CONCLUSION
1. There is no evidence that lead poisoning is a particular
hazard in Lewisham.
2. Lead poisoning is likely to occur in certain specific areas and
it wguld only be by analysis in those areas that the risks of
poisoning could be predicted.
3. Unless areas of special hazard can be identified in Lewisham
the most sensitive indication of increasing danger will be
obtained by observing those areas where there is a special hazard.
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