The Cultural Parameters of Lead Poisoning: A Medical Anthropologist's View of Intervention in Environmental Lead Exposure

This article identifies four culturally shaped sources of lead exposure in human societies: modern and historic technological sources; food habits; culturally defined health beliefs; and beauty practices. Examples of these potential sources of lead poisoning are presented from current cultures. They...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental health perspectives 1990-11, Vol.89, p.79-84
Main Author: Trotter, Robert T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
Anthropology, Cultural
Beauty Culture
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Chemical hazards
Children
Cooking
Culture
Diseases
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE
Feeding Behavior
Folk medicine
FOOD
Food consumption
Health Behavior
Humans
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
Intervention Strategies to Reduce Adverse Health Effects of Lead
Lead
LEAD COMPOUNDS
Lead poisoning
Lead Poisoning - etiology
Lead Poisoning - prevention & control
Lead Poisoning - psychology
POISONING
Pottery
RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
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Summary:This article identifies four culturally shaped sources of lead exposure in human societies: modern and historic technological sources; food habits; culturally defined health beliefs; and beauty practices. Examples of these potential sources of lead poisoning are presented from current cultures. They include the use of lead-glazed cooking pottery in Mexican-American households; folk medical use of lead in Hispanic, Arabic, South Asian, Chinese, and Hmong communities; as well as the use of lead as a cosmetic in the Near East, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Four interacting cultural conditions that create barriers to the reduction of lead exposure and lead poisoning are identified and discussed. These are knowledge deficiencies, communication resistance, cultural reinterpretations, and incongruity of explanatory models.
ISSN:0091-6765
1552-9924
DOI:10.1289/ehp.908979