Global lead exposure report

Abstract

Rethink Priorities has been piloting expanding into human-focused neartermist global priorities research. This post is one of three outputs from the pilot program. Open Philanthropy provided funding for this project and we use their general frameworks for evaluating cause areas, but they do not necessarily endorse its conclusions. We don’t intend this report to be Rethink Priorities’ final word on lead exposure. We hope the report galvanizes a productive conversation about lead exposure within the EA community. We are open to revising our views as more information is uncovered. If you are interested in doing similar research, please apply to Rethink Priorities’ Global Health and Development Staff Researcher position (deadline 13th June 2021). KEY TAKEAWAYS * Lead exposure is a large problem with social costs on the order of $5-10 trillion annually, most of which come through neurological damages and losses in IQ causing lost income later in life. * Lead exposure is diverse both in terms of sources and geography, with there being many different pathways for environmental lead to enter the human body and exposure being common across nearly all low- and middle-income countries. * Although the proportion of the lead burden attributable to different sources is unclear, important exposure pathways include informal recycling of lead acid batteries, residential use of lead-based paint, consumption of lead-adulterated foodstuffs, and cookware manufactured with scrap lead. * Strategies for reducing lead exposure are mostly context- and source-dependent, but generally preventing new lead entering the environment seems more tractable than removing existing lead. * We estimate that $6-10 million globally is currently spent by NGOs focused on reducing lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries. * We are confident that existing and potential new NGOs in the area currently have the capacity to productively absorb $5-10 million annuall