Pan- European atmospheric lead pollution, enhanced blood lead levels, and cognitive decline from Roman- era mining and smelting

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Mcconnell, Joseph R.; Chellman, Nathan J.; Plach, Andreas; Wensman, Sophia M.; Plunkett, Gill; Stohl, Andreas; Smith, Nicole-Kristine; Vinther, Bo Mollesoe; Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe; Steffensen, Jorgen Peder; Fritzsche, Diedrich; Camara-Brugger, Sandra O.; Mcdonald, Brandon T.; Wilson, Andrew I.
• 署名单位: Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE); Desert Research Institute NSHE; University of Vienna; Queens University Belfast; Yale University; University of Copenhagen; Niels Bohr Institute; University of Manitoba; Helmholtz Association; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar & Marine Research; University of Basel; Tufts University; University of Oxford; University of Oxford
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-14585
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2419630121
• 发表日期: 2025-01-16
• 关键词: basque-cantabrian basin; greenland ice-core; occupational-exposure; volcanic-eruptions; CLIMATE-CHANGE; heavy-metals; isotope data; ancient; peat; mineralization

摘要

Ancient texts and archaeological evidence indicate substantial lead exposure during antiquity that potentially impacted human health. Although lead exposure routes were many and included the use of glazed tablewares, paints, cosmetics, and even intentional ingestion, the most significant for the nonelite, rural majority of the population may have been through background air pollution from mining and smelting of silver and lead ores that underpinned the Roman economy. Here, we determined potential health effects of this air pollution using Arctic ice core measurements of Roman- era lead pollution, atmospheric modeling, and modern epidemiology- based relationships between air concentrations, blood lead levels (BLLs), and cognitive decline. Findings suggest air lead concentrations exceeded 150 ng/m3 near metallurgical emission sources, with average enhancements of was blood lead enhancements in young children of about 2.4 mu g/dl above an estimated Neolithic background of 1.0 mu g/dl, leading to widespread cognitive decline including a 2.5- to- 3 point reduction in intelligence quotient throughout the Roman Empire.