Things I Wish I Learned Sooner: The Man Who Killed 100 Million People
Thomas Midgley, Jr. was a U.S. mechanical engineer who worked as a chemist. He developed both the gasoline additive tetraethyl lead and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
At the time of his discoveries, his merits were lauded; today, his legacy is viewed in a much more nuanced way.
Historian John Robert McNeill noted that
“ Midgley had more impact on the atmosphere than any other organism in Earth’s history.”
Clair Cameron Patterson was a U.S. geochemist who studied the lead content in the teeth and bones of recently deceased Americans because he wasn’t satisfied with Midgley proving the harmlessness of his new concept.
For comparison, he measured the lead content in bones and teeth of Peruvian and Egyptian mummies.
Since they lived more than 1600 years ago, they were less exposed to lead. He expected to find that modern Americans had about 100 times as much lead in their bodies. But the results showed it was more like a factor of 1,000.
20th century Americans had 1000 times more lead in their bones than their ancestors. Further studies of babies’ teeth showed that even lead exposure well below the limit considered safe leads to learning delays and lowered IQ, and increased behavioral problems.
There is a broad consensus among all parties except the lead scientist, industry and their spokespersons that lead is extremely toxic even at extremely low doses.
A follow-up study showed that those with higher lead concentrations in their baby teeth are many times more likely to drop out of high school.
Studies like this have led to the CDC’s guidelines for the acceptable levels of lead in children’s blood have been lowered from 60 micrograms per deciliter to 3.5.
As far as we are concerned, we now know that there is no safe level of lead.
Globally, lead is believed to be responsible for nearly two-thirds of all deaths and unexplained mental disabilities.
According to a study published in 2022, more than half of the current
U.S. population, or 170 million people, were exposed to high levels of lead in early childhood.
Those born between 1951 and 1980 are disproportionately affected.
There are estimates that lead has caused a combined loss of more than 800 million IQ points.
The world is less intelligent today than it is today because of leaded gasoline.
But there are even more disturbing correlations…
In the U.S., there was a steady rise in crime from the 1970s to the 1990s, then an abrupt decline. The obvious question is whether children exposed to higher lead levels commit more crimes as adults than they otherwise would have?
One might think this is just a spurious correlation.
But the same pattern appears in many countries, including the UK, Canada and Australia.
And we know there is a causal relationship between lead exposure and antisocial or violent behavior.
A study of 340 teenagers found that those who were arrested were four times more likely to have elevated levels of lead in their bones than comparable demographic control groups.
This does not mean that lead is responsible for the entire increase in crime, but it is very likely responsible for some of it.
It is difficult to estimate the exact number of fatalities.
One of the lesser-known effects is the hardening of the arteries, leading to an increase in cardiovascular disease.
A 2018 study found that lead is likely responsible for 250,000 deaths from heart disease per year in the U.S.
Assuming a constant rate over the past century, that’s 25 million deaths in the U.S. alone.
Globally, the number could approach 100 million.
Most of these deaths are due to Midgley’s decision to mix lead into gasoline as a substance he knew firsthand was toxic, but he did it anyway to maximize profits.
And the problem hasn’t been solved yet.
Current estimates of deaths caused by lead range from 500 to 900 thousand per year.
UNICEF’s 2020 report warns that one in three children worldwide, or over 800 million children, have blood lead levels of five micrograms per deciliter or higher. Much of this lead comes from batteries and industrial processes.
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