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- CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, February 19
CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, February 19
Theo Mitchell & Rachel Bonnifield
February 20, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
Sharing here CGD’s bi-weekly update on lead poisoning publications, events, job opportunities, and funding announcements.
We welcome submissions for future newsletters at this link. New subscribers can sign up at this link, and existing subscribers can remove themselves from future updates via the unsubscribe link at the bottom of this email. We will also invite the new subscribers to join our monthly check-in call.
With best wishes,
Rachel Bonnifield
Director of Global Health Policy and Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development
New Publications and Resources
Assessing Lead Exposure Risks from Commonly Used Consumer Products in Malawi. Lead Research for Action. LeRA sampled 747 products from 24 markets in Malawi and interviewed over 200 consumers and vendors. Several product categories emerged as potential sources of lead exposure, including geophagic materials consumed during pregnancy, plastic foodware, metallic cookware, and certain foods such as leafy greens.
Netflix’s ‘answer to Chernobyl’ tells harrowing story of lead poisoning. Metro. A six-part Netflix drama on lead poisoning in Poland in the 1970s has been released.
Effectiveness of soil remediation intervention of abandoned used lead-acid battery recycling sites to reduce lead exposure among children: A three-arm pretest-posttest non-equivalent comparison group trial. Rahman et al. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. Soil remediation in Bangladesh was associated with a 22% reduction in children’s BLLs within one year.
How to stop the flow of lead in new and existing drinking water systems. JH Redmon. PLOS Water. National technical regulations should set clear minimum requirements based on international standards for lead in plumbing materials.
Schoolchildren’s exposure to potentially toxic metals/metalloids and cognitive impairments in communities of the Brazilian Amazon new agricultural frontiers. Menezes-Filho et al. Neurotoxicology. Amazonian children are vulnerable to cognitive impairments associated with lead exposure, likely originating from foods grown in naturally lead-rich soils..
Housing age and sociodemographic characteristics as predictors of residential lead exposure and modeled child blood lead levels. Alde et al. Science of the Total Environment. US participants signed up to receive environmental sample collection kits by mail. The authors used IEUBK to estimate child BLLs.
Association between potential lead exposure assessed using a screening questionnaire and aggressive behaviour among adolescents in Jakarta, Indonesia: a cross-sectional study. Suraya et al. BMJ Public Health. Aggression was correlated with lead poisoning risk factors among Indonesian high school students.
Blood lead levels in children and soil lead contamination in a former mining area in Germany. Lea et al. Environmental Epidemiology. Increased BLLs found in residents living near a lead mine thirty years after activities ceased.
Upcoming Events
The 12th International Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment is accepting submissions for oral and poster presentations. The conference will be held on 9–10 May in Cairo, Egypt. Register to attend here and submit your abstracts here.
The World Health Organization will host a webinar, ‘Strengthening Global Efforts in Lead Poisoning Prevention’, on 4 March from 14:00–16:00 CET. Register in advance here.