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80 comments on CERA and the Facts

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AlanfromBigEasy on November 27, 2006 - 10:46am

I have the honor of knowing Dr. Howard Mielke, one of the major activists (on the scientific side) for removing lead from gasoline. He did not get tenure at a Big Ten University as a result and came down to Xavier of New Orleans instead.

He was recently laid off after Katrina and the downsizing of the University (one can do this to tenured faculty) and has a temporary position at Tulane.

he may not be aware of this side effect of his work and I will pass this on to him.

Best Hopes,

Alan

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Valuethinker on November 30, 2006 - 10:32am

Deserves a Nobel Prize in Medicine. Like the chemistry guys who got the Nobel for the ozone layer work.

When I came to the UK in 1989, I was stunned to learn that they still sold leaded petrol (it was a big anti pollution measure that eco greenie types were switching their cars to run on unleaded petrol). We only fully did away with the stuff in about 2000, I think.

I think the break point in North America was the California emission controls, (1978?), which required catalytic converters, and therefore wouldn't work with leaded petrol (although of course, to save a few pennies, car owners persisted in filling with leaded, thus ruining the catalytic converters).

There was huge hooting and hollering, that this was unfair to classic car owners (the valves need leaded petrol), an unjustified expense etc. Now I think we pretty much take it as read that lead is one of the worst contaminants you can let get into your children's bloodstream.

I don't have any good references to hand, but there has been a lot of recent scientific work (and some serious criminological work) that lead poisoning, especially in young people, leads to loss of IQ, hyperactivity and other behavioural disorders.

Of course we then went to MBTE, which turns out to be a carcinogenic ground water contaminant.