Ecological Problems of Kazakhstan

Ecological Problems of Kazakhstan

 

Lead and its toxic compounds are dangerous environmental pollutants. The influence of these substances on the health of human beings, especially children, who are the most vulnerable to the harmful impact of lead, is worthy of special study, for the following reasons:

- lead is widespread (practically everywhere) in places where people reside;

- lead, even in extremely low concentrations in the environment, is capable of having a negative impact on children’s health;

- lead causes significant damage to the human nervous system, which has a negative effect on the intellectual development of the growing generation;

- the primary sources of pollution by lead and lead compounds are of anthropogenic origin, creating the opportunity, through the efforts of society, of regulating such pollution and decreasing the risk to health.

Lead and lead compounds are polytrophic poisons (that is, they act on various organs and body systems), and primarily cause changes in the nervous and circulatory systems, as well as disrupting fermentation reactions and vitamin exchange, and lowering immunobiological activity.

The majority of children subjected to the chemical impact of lead and lead compounds suffer from subclinical effects—that is, effects that have not yet appeared in the form of illness, but which already take their toll on body functions. The results of research show that poisoning by even small doses of lead leads to a disruption of motor and coordination skills in children (including hand-eye coordination), as well as of hearing and sleep, and a stunting of physical development (Perlstein, Attala; Bellinger et al.; Rabinowits et al.; NRC). In its publications, the World Health Organization has repeatedly emphasized that lead is of no chemical or biological importance for the human body. The illnesses caused by lead and toxic lead compounds have a negative effect on the development of society as a whole, since the number of highly gifted individuals is lowered, and the number of people with decreased intellectual abilities is increased (Lead and Health).

It has been discovered that an increase of 1 mcg/dl in the lead content of the blood of preschool-age children leads to a decrease of 0.25-0.50 points in the coefficient of a child’s intellectual development. In addition, the consequences of lead poisoning may appear many years later. For instance, as a result of the study of a group of children in whose blood increased levels of lead were found at the age of two years, disruptions in nervous system activity were discovered ten years later (Markowitz). At the present time, the threshold level of lead poisoning for preschool-age children is considered to be a level of lead in the blood equal to 10 mcg/dl.

The primary sources of lead pollution are discharges from industrial enterprises (Nazarbayev), leaded gasoline (Perlstein, Attala), and lead-containing paints and finishes used in construction and in the manufactire of dishware, toys, and other everyday objects (Bellinger et al.). Other sources also exist (for example, Ayurvedic medicines, traditional forms of cosmetics, and others), but these are encountered only in certain countries of the world.

Long-term research has confirmed the direct cause-and-effect connection between the appearance of the early stages of lead poisoning in children, taking the form of disruption of the central nervous system, and the lead content in dust entering the child’s body orally, through dirty hands. In order for such negative effects to appear in children, the falling of tiny particles of paint, contaminated soil, etc. into the dust is sufficient. In this context, hygienic measures play a significant role in preventing the negative effects of lead on children’s health. The use of therapeutic medicines is less effective, since it has been proven that they temporarily lower the level of lead in the blood, but do not remove it from bone tissues.

In various countries of the world, significant positive experience has been accumulated with regard to decreasing the impact of lead on the health of children. In the United States, thanks to the existence of a special comprehensive program over the course of 20 years, the average lead content in the blood of preschool-age children has been reduced by 80% (Brody et al.). In the Landskron region of Sweden, where the largest center for the processing of lead batteries in Europe is located, the average lead content in the population’s blood was reduced in 10 years from 6.5 to 3.05 mcg/dl (Farago et al.). Over the course of two years, in the city of Zlatna (Rumania), the average concentration of lead in children’s blood was reduced from 40 mcg/dl to 28 mcg/dl, in spite of the fact that discharges from industrial enterprises did not fall during that period (Activity report…).

For the Republic of Kazakhstan, the problem of lead pollution is especially urgent. Not only are deposits of lead ore refined within the country, but large metallurgical enterprises are in operation as well (the Ust-Kamenogorsk Lead and Zinc Combine, the Yuzhpolimetall company, and others). However, to date no unified program has been developed in Kazakhstan to prevent the effects of lead on children’s health.

An analysis of the extent to which the problem has been studied show that Kazakhstani scientists, over the course of decades, have conducted ongoing research into the hygienic aspects of environmental lead in various regions of the country (Granovsky). However, the majority of such studies have been devoted to individual regions or industrial enterprises. Moreover, as a result of the different laboratory methods used by various authors, it is difficult to compare the data obtained.

From 1996 to 2003, a study was conducted in the Republic of Kazakhstan with the support of the Civil Research and Development Fund (CRDF, USA) and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in order to estimate the effect of lead pollution on children’s health. The chief agencies conducting the study were the Center for Healthcare and Environmental Design (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and SHARE International, Inc. (USA). Their research involved the comprehensive study of all possible forms of impact by lead on the health of children in various regions of Kazakhstan. The work was carried out using a unique set of portable equipment (NITON XL-700, ESA LeadCare, Kaulson Laboratories Hematofluorometer, and so forth), as well as stationary laboratory complexes in the United States, including a computerized chemical electron microscope (ElectroMicroProbe), enabling researchers to determine the chemical compounds in which lead was found.

Studies were conducted in the cities of Almaty, Shymkent, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Taldykorgan, Tekeli, Pavlodar, Ekibastuz, and Kyzylorda; more than 1100 children and 27 preschool establishments were examined, more than 5000 analyses of the quality of paints, toys, and dishes performed, and 800 express-surveys of soil pollution taken.

The data obtained showed that the mean level of lead contained in the blood of the preschool-age children examined was 8.82+0.26 mcg/dl. At the same time, lead content higher than the norm was found in the blood of 20.7% of the children. The mean amount by which the level of lead exceeded the norm was 2.4 mcg/dl per child. If we take this level as average for Kazakhstan, the overall loss in intellectual development, calculated for all preschoolers, totals approximately 600,000 IQ points**. The highest number of children with increased lead levels was found in Shymkent (65%), the lowest in Pavlodar (4%).

The loss from an increase in the concentration of lead in the blood of 1 mcg/dl per child is estimated in the United States to be approximately $1200 US (Lead and Health).

As noted above, the primary sources of pollution of the environment by lead and its toxic compounds in Kazakhstan are the following: industrial enterprises, leaded gasoline, and lead-based paints and finishes.

Industrial enterprises

As a rule, such pollution is localized in the zone where the polluting enterprises are located. In the given case, the effects of lead on children’s health may be prevented through planning aimed at reducing the negative environmental consequences of industrial operations, observance of basic hygienic requirements, and provision of special training and information to employees of preschool establishments, medical workers, and parents. In some instances, it is necessary to change the profile of the preschools or move them to a different neighborhood, and also work to restore the damaged environment.

Lead content in paints and finishes

In the majority of Kazakhstan’s regions, increases in the level of lead in blood are observed only in individual children. In most cases, this is tied to the use of lead-based paints in the manufacture of toys (above all those of Chinese manufacture), the use of certain kinds of paints and enamels for decorating homes and courtyards (primarily browns, yellows, or greens), and the use of lead-based finishes in the production of dishware (mainly ceramics from China, Russia, and Kazakhstan).

Such cases of the effect of lead on children’s health may be prevented by strengthening controls over the quality of building materials and household items (in the first place, increasing the role of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service in the mandatory certification of production, as well as creating specialized and well-equipped laboratories), observing individual hygiene, and improving training and information for preschool employees, medical workers, and parents. Within the framework of the research undertaken in Kazakhstan in 1996-2001, recommendations were developed and employed in the city of Pavlodar, enabling the mean level of lead in the blood of children attending preschool establishments to be reduced by half.

Leaded gasoline

Despite the fact that leaded gasoline, containing tetraethyl lead, is one of the sources of environmental pollution, to date no unified normative legal act regulating its use has been passed in Kazakhstan. The use of leaded gasoline is prohibited only in certain regions of the republic.

It is necessary to prohibit the use of leaded gasoline throughout the Kazakhstan, and to create an active system for monitoring and enforcement. Experience has shown that a complete withdrawal from the use of leaded gasoline—for example, that carried out in the United States from 1976-1991—has led to a reduction of lead levels in the population’s blood of 77%, and a twofold reduction of the concentration of lead in leaded gasoline led to a decrease of 20% in the level of lead in the blood of the population of Great Britain (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

In our opinion, in order for a substantial reduction to take place in the effects of lead and toxic lead compounds on the health of children in Kazakhstan, a number of measures must be taken.

1. Improvement in the situation with regard to polluting industrial enterprises.

Many of Kazakhstan’s industrial enterprises continue to make use of obsolete technology, the complete replacement of which is either not possible at this time, or not justifiable in economic terms. Therefore, these enterprises are unable to strictly observe modern environmental norms.

2. Instruction, distribution of information, and prophylactic measures.

The impact of lead on children’s health depends largely on individual behavior. Therefore, we recommend that the following basic hygienic requirements be observed:

- conducting daily cleanings, with water, of residential dwellings, carefully cleaning carpeting with a vacuum cleaner;

- changing footwear (and preferably clothing as well) upon entering a home from outside;

- forbidden children to accept food on the street;

- making sure that children wash their hands after returning from outside and before eating;

- not permitting children into building where repairs are taking place, and so forth.

In order to carry out the aforementioned measures, leaders and specialists at agencies of the Sanitary-Epidemiological Service, children’s polyclinics, and educational establishments must not only understand the gravity of the problem, but must possess corresponding qualifications and necessary experience in dealing with it.

Educational seminars should be held for parents as well. Information regarding the dangers of lead intoxication in children and means for preventing it should be distributed widely in the mass media. With the aim of reducing the threat of lead poisoning in children, we recommend the following:

- avoid iron deficiencies in their diet;

- daily intake of up to one gram of calcium.

In formulating a government order for scientific research, priority should be given to hygienic research aimed at developing measures for preventing lead poisoning.

3. Comprehensive research and monitoring.

In light of the diverse pathways by which lead can penetrate the body, it is necessary to develop a system of constant monitoring, and to conduct regular and comprehensive studies in order to discover children suffering from the danger of lead intoxication. Throughout the world, the widely accepted practice is to simultaneously conduct observations both of the state of the environment and of the lead content in children’s blood, as a primary marker of pollution. The impact of lead on children is highly individual in nature; two children from the same family may have different levels of lead in their blood, depending on the specific details of their behavior.

4. Solutions for urban planning and construction, as well as the recultivation (restoration) of soil and plant cover.

The implementation of a program for decreasing the danger of lead poisoning in children requires the adoption of specific solutions for urban design and construction, and the restoration of the natural environment (above all, the soil) at sites that have been subjected to technogenic disruption.

5. Medical examination and treatment.

At the present time, no truly effective methods exist for treating children suffering from lead poisoning.

Relying on the criteria developed by the World Health Organization, we can assert that among all of the children studied in Kazakhstan, approximately 5.7% (having lead blood levels higher than 25 mcg/dl) require careful medical examination, and some 0.4% (with lead blood levels of over 55 mcg/dl) are in need of immediate treatment.

6. Improvements in the framework of official norms and legislation, as well as organizational measures.

The improvement of the current normative and legislative framework in Kazakhstan is of critical importance for programs aimed at decreasing the threat of lead poisoning in children, as current legislation fails to meet the needs of the times.

Taking into account all of the aforementioned issues, specialists at the Ministry of Public Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan have developed a concept and program for the comprehensive study and reduction of the dangers of the impact of lead on the health of the children of Kazakhstan (Decree No. 859, September 16, 2002). The implementation of this program will make it possible to have a real impact on the current situation, to attract investors, and to guarantee that the plans developed by the country’s scientists are adopted and put into practice.

 

 

 

 

 

Экологические проблемы Казахстан

Свинец и его соединения токсичны опасных загрязнителей  окружающей среды. Влияние этих веществ  на здоровье человека, особенно детей, которые являются наиболее уязвимыми  к вредному воздействию свинца, достоин специального исследования, по следующим причинам:

- Свинец широко распространен  (практически повсеместно) в местах, где люди проживают;

- Свинец, даже в чрезвычайно  низких концентрациях в окружающей  среде, способен иметь негативное  влияние на здоровье детей;

- Свинец наносит значительный  ущерб нервной системы человека, которая оказывает негативное  влияние на интеллектуальное  развитие подрастающего поколения;

- Основными источниками  загрязнения свинца и свинцовых  соединений антропогенного происхождения,  создавая возможность, благодаря  усилиям общества, регулирующие  такие загрязнения окружающей  среды и уменьшению риска для  здоровья.

Свинец и свинцовые  соединения полиграфической яды (то есть, они действуют на различные  органы и системы организма), и  в первую очередь вызывают изменения  в нервной и кровеносной систем, а также нарушение реакции  брожения и витамина обмена и снижению иммунобиологической активности.

Большинство детей, подвергшихся химическому воздействию свинца и свинцовых соединений страдает от субклинических эффектов, то есть эффектов, которые еще не появились в виде болезни, но которые уже сказываются на функции организма. Результаты исследований показывают, что отравление даже малые дозы свинца приводит к разрушению двигателя и навыков координации у детей (в том числе координацию рук и глаз), а также слуха и сна, и замедление роста физического развития (Perlstein, Attala , Bellinger и др.;. Rabinowits и др.;. СРН). В своих публикациях Всемирной организации здравоохранения неоднократно подчеркивал, что ведущий не имеет химическое или биологическое значение для организма человека. Болезни, вызванные свинцом и токсичных соединений свинца иметь негативное влияние на развитие общества в целом, так как ряд весьма одаренных людей снижается, и количество людей со снижением интеллектуальных способностей увеличивается (свинец и здравоохранения).

Было обнаружено, что увеличение на 1 мкг / дл в содержание свинца в  крови детей дошкольного возраста приводит к снижению 0.25-0.50 пункта в  коэффициенте умственного развития ребенка. Кроме того, последствия  отравления свинцом могут появиться  спустя много лет. Например, в результате исследования группы детей, в чьей крови повышенные уровни содержания свинца были обнаружены в возрасте двух лет, сбои в деятельности нервной системы были обнаружены десять лет спустя (Markowitz). В настоящее время, пороговый уровень отравления свинцом для детей дошкольного возраста считается уровень свинца в крови, равная 10 мкг / дл.

Основными источниками загрязнения  свинцом являются сбросы промышленных предприятий (Назарбаев), этилированный  бензин (Perlstein, Attala), а также содержащие свинец краски и отделки используется в строительстве и в manufactire посуды, игрушек и других предметов быта (Bellinger и др. .). Другие источники также существуют (например, аюрведические лекарства, традиционные формы косметику и др.), но они встречаются только в некоторых странах мира.

Долгосрочные исследования подтвердили прямую связь причинно-следственная между появлением ранних стадиях отравления свинцом у детей, принимающих форму нарушения центральной нервной системы, а содержание свинца в пыли ввода тело ребенка в устной форме, через грязные руки. Для того, чтобы такие негативные эффекты появляются у детей, падающие из крошечных частиц краски, загрязненной почвы и т.д. в пыль достаточно. В этом контексте, гигиенические меры играют важную роль в предотвращении негативного воздействия свинца на здоровье детей. Использование терапевтических лекарственных средств является менее эффективным, так как было доказано, что они временно снизить уровень свинца в крови, но не вынимайте его из костной ткани.

В различных странах мира, значительный положительный опыт был  накоплен в связи с уменьшением  воздействия свинца на здоровье детей. В Соединенных Штатах, благодаря  наличию специальной комплексной  программы в течение 20 лет, среднее  содержание свинца в крови детей  дошкольного возраста была снижена  на 80% (Brody соавт.). В Landskron регионе Швеции, где крупнейший центр по переработке свинцовых аккумуляторов в Европе находится, среднее содержание свинца в крови населения сократилась в 10 лет с 6,5 до 3,05 мкг / дл (Фараго и соавт.). В течение двух лет в городе Златна (Румыния), средняя концентрация свинца в крови детей был снижен с 40 мкг / дл до 28 мкг / дл, несмотря на то, что сбросы промышленных предприятий, не подпадают в течение этого периода (Отчет о деятельности ...).

Для Республики Казахстан, проблема загрязнения свинцом является особенно актуальным. Не только месторождения  свинца руды уточнить внутри страны, но крупные металлургические предприятия  находятся в эксплуатации, а также (Усть-Каменогорском свинцово-цинковом комбинате, компания Южполиметалл, и  др.). Однако до настоящего времени нет единой программы была разработана в Казахстан для предотвращения воздействия свинца на здоровье детей.