“Between 1987 and 2001, 80% of children with high levels of lead in blood were children of color, among them, 60% were black”

Meyer, Pamela et. al., “Surveillance for Elevated Blood Lead Levels Among Children (1997 – 2000)” (CDC, September 1, 2003).

Lead is an epidemic that has been ravaging communities of color across the country and the world for 100 years. The reasons why it was and continues to be so rampant of an issue did not hinge upon the individual choices of parents or homeowners. The story of lead in our environment is a story about capitalism, the politics of science, and the subtle and overt workings of environmental racism.

Credits

• This episode was produced by me with support from the National Science Foundation and the Ridge to Reef Program at UCI. Views and opinions my own.
• Help with editing and writing came from Activate to Captivate.
• Original reporting on the lead crisis in Santa Ana was done by Yvette Cabrera
• Music was by Purple Planet (find out more at www.purple-planet.com) and Weapons of Mass Creation
• Thank you to Enrique Valencia and OCEJ members for their testimonies.

Bibliography

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• Cabrera, Yvette. “Urban Children Are Playing in Toxic Dirt.” Accessed March 10, 2021. https://archive.thinkprogress.org/urban-children-are-playing-in-toxic-dirt-41961957ff23/.
• Kitman, Jamie Lincoln. “The Secret History of Lead,” March 2, 2000. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/secret-history-lead/.
• Leech, Tamara G. J., Elizabeth A. Adams, Tess D. Weathers, Lisa K. Staten, and Gabriel M. Filippelli. “Inequitable Chronic Lead Exposure: A Dual Legacy of Social and Environmental Injustice.” Family & Community Health 39, no. 3 (2016): 151–59. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000106.
• Reuters. “Millions of American Kids Are Going Untested for Lead Poisoning.” Accessed August 25, 2020. http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/lead-poisoning-testing-gaps/.
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• Pell, M. B., and Joshua Schneyer. “Reuters Finds Lead Levels Higher than Flint’s in Thousands of Locales.” Reuters. Accessed August 18, 2020. http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-lead-testing/.
• Shy, C. M. “Lead in Petrol: The Mistake of the XXth Century.” World Health Statistics Quarterly. Rapport Trimestriel De Statistiques Sanitaires Mondiales 43, no. 3 (1990): 168–76.
• “The Conquest of Lead Poisoning: A Pyrrhic Victory – ProQuest.” Accessed September 7, 2020. https://www.proquest.com/docview/222639721?accountid=14509.
• UNICEF. “The Toxic Truth.” Accessed October 20, 2020. https://www.unicef.org/reports/toxic-truth-childrens-exposure-to-lead-pollution-2020.
• “Health Education Materials.” Accessed August 31, 2020. https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/CLPPB/Pages/edmatls.aspx.
• “Lead Screening and Prevalence of Blood Lead Levels in Children Aged 1–2 Years — Child Blood Lead Surveillance System, United States, 2002–2010 and National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 1999–2010.” Accessed August 24, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6302a6.htm.
• “Low Level Lead Exposure Harms Children: A Renewed Call for Primary Prevention,” July 17, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/default.htm.