December 19th 2008

CR issues consensus statement on a worldwide reduction in exposure to lead

The Collegium Ramazzini, an international academy of 180 experts in environmental sciences and occupational health, has published a new consensus statement calling for a worldwide reduction in exposure to lead. The position paper summarizes the scientific basis for instituting a worldwide ban on non-essential uses of lead and outlines 12 specific recommendations for reducing lead exposures through source identification, control, and elimination.

The Collegium Ramazzini calls for substantial strengthening of legal standards regulating exposure to lead in the workplace and general environment, as well as for reduction in the blood lead concentrations officially recognized as causing harm in workers, adults, infants and small children, to better align these standards with current scientific knowledge of lead toxicity.

The Collegium Ramazzini is a non-profit, scientific society which is independent of commercial interests. Its mission is to advance the study of occupational and environmental health issues and to be a bridge between the world of scientific discovery and the social and political centers which must act on scientific findings to protect public health. To this end the Collegium Ramazzini issues position papers on key issues in environmental sciences. Recent topics of statements include pesticides (2008), cancer prevention (2008) and asbestos (2004).

The document released today, entitled “Call for Worldwide Reduction in Exposure to Lead” is the 14th official statement of the Collegium since its founding in 1982. It is currently in press in two peer-reviewed scientific journals, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine and the European Journal of Oncology. The full text of this statement and others may be downloaded from www.collegiumramazzini.org.

Press contact
Collegium Ramazzini
Kathryn Knowles
development@ramazzini.it
+39 051/6640460