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- CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, Jan 23
CGD Lead Poisoning Bi-weekly Update, Jan 23
Theo Mitchell & Rachel Bonnifield
January 23, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
Sharing here CGD’s bi-weekly update on lead poisoning publications, events, job opportunities, and funding announcements.
Last week to submit: the deadline for CGD’s Second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure is next week (31 January).
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
Beyond Hot Spots: Estimating Population Lead Exposure from Battery Recycling. Crawfurd et al. Center for Global Development. We estimate that battery recycling may account for around one third of lead exposure in low- and lower-middle-income countries, far higher than previous estimates. This difference is driven mainly by our inclusion of lower-level pollution that spreads over much larger surrounding areas. Read the blog here.
Association of Lead in Drinking Water With Head and Neck Cancer in the United States. Scussiatto et al. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Even low-level lead exposure below EPA limits in drinking water is associated with an increased incidence of head and neck cancers.
Electronic Waste-Associated Lead Exposure and Child Neurodevelopment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Yaala et al. Working Paper. The authors estimate that living in a community with an e-waste recycling industry is associated with 0.58 SD lower neurodevelopmental scores (roughly 8 IQ points).
The Fed building renovations at the center of Trump's fight with Powell: Five things to know. Economic Times. Lead contamination in the ground has contributed to the Fed building renovations going over budget, which has in turn been the premise for the Trump administration’s threat of criminal charges against Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
IL environmental advocates urge use of Medicaid in reducing lead exposure. Yahoo News. Illinois advocates are pushing the state to use Medicaid waivers to fund household water filters as a fast and low-cost way to cut lead exposure while slow and expensive pipe replacement programmes continue. The approach is modelled on a post-Flint scheme in Michigan.
Job Opportunities
Stanford University’s Project Unleaded is hiring a Research and Program Manager. Read about their expanding research here.
Upcoming Events
The deadline for submissions to CGD’s Second Annual Research Conference on Global Lead Exposure is in one week, on January 31. It will be hosted in London on June 3-4 2026. As well as oral and poster presentations of academic papers this year, we will accept interactive workshops, briefings, and demonstrations.