Chijioke Iremeka
As Nigeria joins the global community to commemorate the 2024 International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, public health experts have highlighted the danger of drinking water delivered through lead pipes.
The physicians warned that drinking lead-contaminated water could lead to major organ damage, including kidney failure.
They also disclosed that lead pipes could leak toxic substances into the water supply, lamenting this poses significant health risks and even death.
Marked from 20 – 26 October, the aim of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is to draw attention to the health impacts of lead exposure, highlight efforts by countries and partners to prevent childhood lead exposure and accelerate efforts to phase out the use of lead in paint.
The experts noted that lead exposure, particularly through contaminated drinking water, could lead to a range of serious health issues in vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women.
The accumulation of lead in the body, the experts said, could result in neurological damage, developmental delays, and various other long-term health problems.
The focus of this year’s campaign, “Bright futures begin lead Free,” reminds governments, civil society organisations, health partners, industry, and others of the unacceptable risks of lead exposure and the need for action to protect children’s health.
The campaign builds on the success of outlawing the use of lead in petrol and the progress achieved by many countries in establishing laws that limit the use of lead in paint, particularly those paints to which children are exposed in their homes, schools, and playgrounds.
According to the World Health Organisation, lead exposure was attributed to more than 1.5 million deaths globally in 2021, primarily due to cardiovascular effects.
The global health body emphasised that exposure to lead could affect multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children and women of childbearing age, stressing that lead is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney, and bones.
“Lead is stored in the bones and teeth. The lead in bones and teeth is released into the blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing foetus. There is no level of exposure to lead that is considered safe. The harmful impacts on health from lead exposure are entirely preventable,” the WHO added.
Speaking exclusively with PUNCH Healthwise in different interviews, the physicians said even minimal exposure could be detrimental, as lead builds up in the body, leading to long-term health problems that might not be immediately evident.
They maintained that preventing lead exposure was crucial, especially in environments where children live and play while stressing the urgent need for communities to take immediate action by replacing lead pipes and implementing stringent water quality testing.
Prof Tanimola Akande
A Professor of Public Health at the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, Tanimola Akande, said lead contamination, even in low doses, could accumulate over time and might have adverse effects on humans.
He emphasised that lead could cause neurological damage, particularly to children who were more susceptible to lead poisoning.
Akande, an epidemiologist, stressed that “lead confirmation over time can lead to organ damage. It can damage the brain, kidney, and cardiovascular system.”
On the complications of lead, Akande said, “Lead is poisonous to the human body when consumed in water and food. It can cause water pipe corrosion and contaminate water sources.
“Lead can cause neurological damage, particularly to children who are more susceptible. This can weaken the body’s immune system and also affect bones.
Akande, who is also a former National Chairman of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, said prevention could be done by regular monitoring of the level of lead contamination of water sources.
To avoid lead poisoning, he stressed that water that had stayed long in the pipe should be allowed to drain out before collecting the water for drinking.
Akande cautioned that lead pipes might also need to be replaced to prevent continuous contamination of water, adding that filtering of water could help reduce lead contamination.
“There is a need to create awareness among people on the dangers of lead contamination of water sources and the preventive measures that can be taken. The government needs to regularly test water sources to ensure they are free from chemicals that could be harmful to humans.
“Raising awareness during this crucial week can help prevent the devastating consequences of lead poisoning, safeguarding public health and well-being,” he added.
Prof Aisha Abubakar
More so, another Epidemiologist and public health physician at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, Kaduna State, Prof Aisha Abubakar, said, there were many hazards that could occur when lead contaminates the drinking water.
She said, “Usually, the older pipes in the 80s were made with lead or coated with another material to prevent the lead from affecting the water. Lead is poisonous and particularly more harmful to children than other adults.
“The level at which lead is poisonous is higher in children than adults. Having lead contamination in water can cause a lot of illnesses such as brain-related issues and anemia.
“To prevent possible hazards of lead poisoning in water, you will need to ideally change the pipe because the use of lead in the pipe is greatly discouraged and there is the amount that is deemed to be too high.
“Note that from the later 80s, the use of lead pipes or lead pipes coated with other materials was discouraged and should not be used. That was the recommendation at that time but how far that was followed in Nigeria is what I do not know.”
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