lead -- another little episode illustrating the cost of bad government

[Warren D Smith]

Tetraethyl lead used to be added to gasoline in the USA.
When scientists begged this practice be banned,
the US government stonewalled for decade after decade to keep rich
donors like General Motors happy.

Now a followup study of 14289 random US adults whose blood lead levels had been
measured between 1988 and 1994 finds large correlations with subsequent
mortality (i.e. from then up to 2018). Comparing mortality in the
tenth percentile
of blood lead (1.0 microgram/deciLiter) with that in the 90th
percentile (6.7), they found a 37% increase in all-cause mortality.
The mortality-increasing effect of lead is seen down
to the lowest lead levels their tests could measure.

Wow. That is absolutely immense.
The resulting estimate is that 18% of all US deaths during that period
were due to lead, probably mainly from gasoline.

I repeat. Your government, by refusing to act, (since, after
all, we need to get rid of "job-killing regulations")
directly caused 18% of all mortality.


--
Warren D. Smith
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