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Lead paint and lead gasoline are shocking examples of corporate misbehavior. Interior lead paint was banned in many European countries by the 1920s because of

Lead paint and lead gasoline are shocking examples of corporate misbehavior. Interior lead paint was banned in many European countries by the 1920s because of the obvious health risks. But in the US the lead manufactures responded to health concerns with "Dutch Boy" lead paint, deliberately marketed to appear safe enough for a child to use. They actually had advertising campaigns promoting lead paint for childrens' toys, cribs, and bedrooms. Household lead paint not banned in the US until 1978, and it now a major concern and cost for people living in older homes. The health risks of leaded gasoline were also obvious to many, and ethanol was known as a safe alternative anti-knock additive in the 1920s. General Motors and Alfred P. Sloan tried to hide the risks of lead paint via front groups and manipulation of regulatory agencies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLoixnECec0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLoixnECec0 Video about Dutch Boy paint advertising to children. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/why-it-took-decades-of-blaming-parents-before-we-banned-lead-paint/275169/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/why-it-too... David Rosner is the Ronald H. Lauterstein Professor of Sociomedical Sciences and a professor of history at Columbia University. Gerald Markowitz is a Distinguished Professor of History at John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center. Their most recent book is Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of Americaís Children. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/07/violent-crime-lead-poisoning-british-export http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/07/violent... Yes, lead poisoning could really be a cause of violent crime, by George Monbiot http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/lead-paint-lawsuit-california-tobacco-industry_n_3696533.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/03/lead-paint-lawsuit-... Lead Paint Makers Could Face The Same Fate As Big Tobacco http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead http://www.thenation.com/article/secret-history-lead The Secret History of Lead

_delirium 12y ago
Interesting, I hadn't realized the first bans were as early as the 1920s. Researching a bit now, it seems like concerns were raised by at least the 19th century, and were pretty solid by the early 20th, which is not at all how I've heard it presented previously. I had previously assumed that it was not really known to science until the 1960s or so, which seems untrue. From what I've found in some quick digging, it seems like the early bans were driven by workplace-safety concerns (rather than residential safety), as unions agitated to ban dangerous substances that had been causing health problems for painters and other workers who were exposed to it (e.g. through sanding). There was a 1921 convention of the International Labor Organization to that effect, but the U.S. didn't sign: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lead_%28Painting%29_Convention,_1921 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lead_%28Painting%29_Conv...
- danielweber 12y ago
  Lead paint was recommended by the Federal government and required for many projects for much of the 20th century. This is a (admittedly biased, just look at the URL) page discussing some examples of the history: http://www.leadlawsuits.com/index.php?s=699 http://www.leadlawsuits.com/index.php?s=699
  - Shivetya 12y ago
    This link is very informative with regards to lead paint, it wasn't some corporate abuse, there were compelling reasons to use lead paint and hence it was accepted. It even notes that it was rarely found in interior paints by the forties, it persisted in outdoor paints because it could withstand the elements. That strength was why it was used in the first place, you could wash it and the concerns of that age were communicable diseases that were slowed or prevented by washing, which the previous interior covering being wallpaper was not so durable and was suspected of easily harboring disease through pores and the glue. Top it off with the US Government basically telling you to use it. Many of the health concerns for lead use were only seen as manufacturing dangers, end products were not considered unsafe.
- masklinn 12y ago
  Lead might just have been the first corporate PRS bullshit show, before even tobacco. And just like tobacco (and AGW these days) they were very successful in suppressing or casting aspersions of evidence.
rodgerd 12y ago
> The health risks of leaded gasoline were also obvious to many, and ethanol was known as a safe alternative anti-knock additive in the 1920s. FTA: "Midgley spent months plagued by the effects of lead poisoning. GM's ethyl plant in New Jersey, meanwhile, was forced to close after several workers went mad and some died. The press renamed ethyl "looney gas". " And yet it continued to be used for decades. A lesson, I guess, in the power of wealthy industries to be allowed to do whatever damage they want. Also FTA: ". It was Midgley who invented chlorofluorocarbons - CFCs..." One guy gave us CFCs and lead additives to petrol? Thanks. Thanks a bunch.
- j1o1h1n 12y ago
  Nyarlathotep at it again.
- techdragon 12y ago
  Lookup how he died and you may feel a little more Karmically Balanced
  - Dylan16807 12y ago
    One messy death is not in the same ballpark as balancing. But retribution is dumb; reparations are far superior.
ap22213 12y ago
So, given this, shouldn't it be possible to compare Europe to the US between 1920 and 1978 and see the affects of lead?
- TheCoelacanth 12y ago
  I think leaded fuel, which most European countries banned around the same time that the US did, will overpower the effects of lead-based paint. There have been findings that the murder rate is closely correlated with the total amount of environmental lead from 21 years earlier[1]. [1] http://www.livescience.com/38056-murder-rate-and-the-environment.html http://www.livescience.com/38056-murder-rate-and-the-environ...

_delirium 12y ago

Interesting, I hadn't realized the first bans were as early as the 1920s. Researching a bit now, it seems like concerns were raised by at least the 19th century, and were pretty solid by the early 20th, which is not at all how I've heard it presented previously. I had previously assumed that it was not really known to science until the 1960s or so, which seems untrue. From what I've found in some quick digging, it seems like the early bans were driven by workplace-safety concerns (rather than residential safety), as unions agitated to ban dangerous substances that had been causing health problems for painters and other workers who were exposed to it (e.g. through sanding). There was a 1921 convention of the International Labor Organization to that effect, but the U.S. didn't sign: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lead_%28Painting%29_Convention,_1921 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Lead_%28Painting%29_Conv...

danielweber 12y ago
Lead paint was recommended by the Federal government and required for many projects for much of the 20th century. This is a (admittedly biased, just look at the URL) page discussing some examples of the history: http://www.leadlawsuits.com/index.php?s=699 http://www.leadlawsuits.com/index.php?s=699
- Shivetya 12y ago
  This link is very informative with regards to lead paint, it wasn't some corporate abuse, there were compelling reasons to use lead paint and hence it was accepted. It even notes that it was rarely found in interior paints by the forties, it persisted in outdoor paints because it could withstand the elements. That strength was why it was used in the first place, you could wash it and the concerns of that age were communicable diseases that were slowed or prevented by washing, which the previous interior covering being wallpaper was not so durable and was suspected of easily harboring disease through pores and the glue. Top it off with the US Government basically telling you to use it. Many of the health concerns for lead use were only seen as manufacturing dangers, end products were not considered unsafe.
masklinn 12y ago
Lead might just have been the first corporate PRS bullshit show, before even tobacco. And just like tobacco (and AGW these days) they were very successful in suppressing or casting aspersions of evidence.

rodgerd 12y ago

> The health risks of leaded gasoline were also obvious to many, and ethanol was known as a safe alternative anti-knock additive in the 1920s. FTA: "Midgley spent months plagued by the effects of lead poisoning. GM's ethyl plant in New Jersey, meanwhile, was forced to close after several workers went mad and some died. The press renamed ethyl "looney gas". " And yet it continued to be used for decades. A lesson, I guess, in the power of wealthy industries to be allowed to do whatever damage they want. Also FTA: ". It was Midgley who invented chlorofluorocarbons - CFCs..." One guy gave us CFCs and lead additives to petrol? Thanks. Thanks a bunch.

j1o1h1n 12y ago
Nyarlathotep at it again.
techdragon 12y ago
Lookup how he died and you may feel a little more Karmically Balanced
- Dylan16807 12y ago
  One messy death is not in the same ballpark as balancing. But retribution is dumb; reparations are far superior.

ap22213 12y ago

So, given this, shouldn't it be possible to compare Europe to the US between 1920 and 1978 and see the affects of lead?

TheCoelacanth 12y ago
I think leaded fuel, which most European countries banned around the same time that the US did, will overpower the effects of lead-based paint. There have been findings that the murder rate is closely correlated with the total amount of environmental lead from 21 years earlier[1]. [1] http://www.livescience.com/38056-murder-rate-and-the-environment.html http://www.livescience.com/38056-murder-rate-and-the-environ...