Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says

NBC News / Comcast ^ | March 7, 2022 | By Elizabeth Chuck

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Exposure to leaded gasoline lowered the IQ of about half the population of the United States, a new study estimates.

The peer-reviewed study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focuses on people born before 1996 — the year the U.S. banned gas containing lead.

Overall, the researchers from Florida State University and Duke University found, childhood lead exposure cost America an estimated 824 million points, or 2.6 points per person on average.

Certain cohorts were more affected than others. For people born in the 1960s and the 1970s, when leaded gas consumption was skyrocketing, the IQ loss was estimated to be up to 6 points and for some, more than 7 points. Exposure to it came primarily from inhaling auto exhaust.

The team behind the study used gas consumption data, population estimates and other data to calculate that as of 2015, more than 170 million Americans had had blood lead levels above 5 micrograms per deciliter in their early childhood years.

Lead is a neurotoxin, and no amount of it is safe. Currently, 3.5 micrograms per deciliter is the reference value for blood lead levels to be considered high; the acceptable amount was once higher.

Principal study author Michael McFarland, an associate professor of sociology at Florida State University and a faculty member of the university’s Center for Demography and Population Health, called the number of people affected by lead exposure “staggering.”

[rlmorel]

“It’s got electrolytes!”

[The MAGA-Deplorian]

OK, this explains Democrats.

But it doesn’t explain the assistant Democrats like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney.

A hippo can call itself a Cheeta and put dots all over itself, but that does not make it one. But they can self identify as a cheeta thanks to lead in gasoline that the liberals huff on. And if you don’t agree due to high intelligence, you are a bigoted racist. This is a sign of lead poisoning.

Now you know why republicants wanted gas diluted with ethanol, in hopes that the corn would counter the lead, but it poisoned the ground water and sped up the retardation, to the point that we now buy water in plastic bottles for $1.50.

[D Rider]

Both my grandfather's had 8th grade educations. They could solve complicated geometry and algebraic problems run businesses and become quite wealthy. One grandfather grew up in a household where his father made his own lead base paint on the kitchen stove (don't know if that was common or not.) Painted his house almost every year, (no lead exposure there /s.)

Yet too many of today's kids get out of school and can barely read, if at all. And just forget about math. It is because of leaded gasoline? Yeah sure... it's totally believable, that must be it./s

[Paperpusher]

“Lead from gasoline blunted the IQ of about half the U.S. population, study says”

Most of which would logically be in big cities where the pollution is concentrated. Lead pipes and lead paint may also have contributed.

I bet the methodology of the study is flawed. Too many other variables have been overlooked.

[yesthatjallen]

Pick a study. Any study.

IQ scores are declining. Scientists believe they know why (2018)

"The study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on Monday, considered data from a survey of Norwegian men born between 1962 and 1991. They found that for those who were born between 1962 and 1975, IQ scores gained nearly three percentage points each decade. However, the IQs of those born after 1975 declined."

[moovova]

But leaded gas made my 1960 Austin Healey 3000 run like a Swiss watch. Unleaded...not so much.

[M Kehoe]

Here come the law suits.

Hey, I missed my 2.6 IQ points during life. I’m now a victim.

Where’s my check?

5.56mm

[yesthatjallen]

"Too many other variables have been overlooked."

Relevant variables have deliberately been overlooked.

[NetAddicted]

Puberty Blockers, for sex-confused children, knock 8 points off IQ.

[rlmorel]

Exactly. It is all a bunch of hooey. And I am sure they got government money to do the study.

[Trillian]

I think it’s public schools and media consumption.

[dirtymac]

Mostly Democrats, with an occasional Republican, as in RINO.

[DAC21]

“L.A. was blanketed with lead smog for decades”

I know about it, I grew up in Orange County we got L.A.’s overflow. Real thick back in the 70’s.

[HollyB]

And how are you? I’ll be keeping an eye on you now lol. J/k

When I lived in Corpus Christi, I’d head over the border from time to time. I sent my sister some from ceramics. Later after we learned about lead in Mexican ceramics, I told her and her kids- ‘just think - your kids could have been geniuses had they not eaten dip from those bowls”. Lol

[oldtech]

Sounds like some more disinformation to me. What do they think....were people drinking the stuff? I was probably exposed to it much more than average, but I still didn’t vote for Biden, Obama, Clinton, etc.

[Morpheus2009]

There might be validity to that. For so many people nowadays, it involves letting other people do your thinking and your work for you. I remember the internet being a do it yourself endeavor up through the 2000s before Twitter and Facebook, and YouTube, and the other platforms took over. The reason for the other platforms taking over was because they were easy in comparison and they often did most of the work for you as opposed to you writing out the HTML or the Java yourself. Since it didn’t require as much thinking but way more being a passive audience on the internet, it isn’t too far of a stretch that many people ended up thinking less, and didn’t need as much intelligence or thinking to get by in life.