He said decisive action is needed now to teach young people the danger they face. The study was carried out at four urban hospital centers in the cities of Baltimore, Cincinnati, Newark, and Philadelphia. The researchers followed for a three-year period 784 children considered at risk for high lead exposure. The experts knew that the drug succimer was effective in reducing the level of lead in a child's blood. They wanted to find out if the drug prevented or reduced the adverse affects of lead.
Lead exposure is known to impair cognitive development in small children.
Standard intelligence test scores are significantly lower among children exposed to lead. Lead exposure among children dropped drastically in the United States after lead was removed from automobile petrol. However, public health experts still found high blood levels of lead among children in urban areas who lived in flats and houses where lead paint had been used. The director of the Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Kenneth Olden, said the study results clearly show that treatment does not help the intellectual abilities of lead exposed children. He said the solution to the problem of lead exposure is prevention.