Lead Contamination Causes Developmental Problems

Case Overview

This case takes place in New York and involves a plaintiff who moved into a house owned by the defendant. The plaintiffs lived in the residence for a period of several months, when they were compelled to vacate due to extremely high levels of lead that had contaminated the house and the surrounding soil. A few years before the plaintiff family had moved in to the defendant’s property, the defendant had personally removed large portions of the lead-based paint from both the exterior and interior of the building by use of grinding wheels, brushes, and various other paint removal tools. He was not trained or certified to remove lead paint and coatings from any building or structure. The surrounding topsoil adjacent to the house contained many times the legal limit of lead contamination. The plaintiff’s children have suffered bodily injury and developmental problems from the high levels of lead contamination. The children were hospitalized for an extended period of time for treatment which required, among other things, a complete blood transfusion and cleansing of lead from their bloodstream. A number of experts in environmental engineering, soil chemistry, and a neuropsychologist were retained in this case.

Questions to the Environmental expert and their responses

Have you ever been involved with the treatment of children who have been exposed to high levels of lead?

My research is focused on cognitive development and neurotoxicology in human infants and children. I am currently investigating the association of low-level lead (Pb) exposure and childrens' intellectual and neuropsychological development.

Can you speak on the cognitive impairment associated to lead poisoning?

My work on this committee was to guide the EPA in their completion of the most recent integrated science assessment for lead in service of their evaluation of current national ambient air quality standards. This work involved a thorough review of all scientific literature on the sources of environmental lead, routes of exposure, mechanisms of health effects, and biostatistical evidence for adverse effects in humans. I contributed primary expertise on the evidence for adverse neuropsychological effects of lead exposure in children. It appears clear that the developmental delays experienced by the children in this case were the result of their significant lead exposure.

About the expert

This expert earned his PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Denver. As a Developmental Psychologist, this expert's overarching professional objective is to generate knowledge that will enhance the understanding of developmental change in perception, cognition, and other aspects of neurobehavioral functioning in infants and children, and to use this knowledge to improve children's health, well-being, and developmental potential. This goal is pursued through combined study of processes of normal development and by investigating how prenatal and postnatal experiences can alter developmental processes and their associated outcomes. This expert belongs to a number of prestigious societies in the psychology space, including the International Society for Infant Studies and the Society for Research in Child Development. Currently, this expert is a senior research associate at an ivy league university.

E-028575

Specialties:

Environmental