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

Abstract

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.

Poverty and Cultural Diversity: Challenges for Health Promotion Among the Medically Underserved

“…Efforts to reduce these exposures have tended to focus on health protection measures, such as legislative and regulatory requirements to reduce the exposure levels of lead in the environ ment. However, anthropological studies that focus on the culturally related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that may be sources of lead poisoning are also important (56).…”

Assessing Elemental Mercury Vapor Exposure from Cultural and Religious Practices

“…Popular books for home practitioners of Santeria (8,9) include spells that use mercury, but do not comment on the risks it poses. Medical anthropologists have documented the use of potentially toxic remedies in folk medicine, but have not focused on the health implications of toxic substances used in religious rituals and spells (10,11).…”

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“…The tonic was labeled as curing conditions such as bronchitis, diarrhea, rickets, croup, and convulsions. Lead compounds are sometimes applied to neonate umbilical cords as a part of the birthing ritual in Asia (Trotter, 1990).…”