Environmental lead exposure and its impact on the health of children, pregnant women and the general population in Haiti

Alexandra Emmanuel (1) , Yanick Simon (2)

1 GHERES - Groupe Haïtien d’Etudes et de Recherche en Environnement et Santé
2 GHERES - Groupe Haïtien d’Etudes et de Recherche en Environnement et Santé

Exposure to lead is well known to have detrimental effects on the environment and human health, including almost every organ and system in the body. In Haiti, although leaded gasoline has been banned since 1998, lead is still present in the environment due to its persistence and bioaccumulative capacities. In addition to lead air emissions, urban groundwater resources are exposed to lead. The Haitian population is exposed to a widespread urban health problem that especially affects children and pregnant women who are more vulnerable. In order to understand environmental lead pollution in Haiti, a literature review in the MEDLINE/PUBMED database was conducted on lead in drinking water from 1997 to 2016. The inclusion criteria included all studies that reported the prevalence of blood lead levels in the general population and studies assessing the risk of exposure to lead in drinking water in different regions of the country. This work gives an overview of exposure to lead in the environment, its impact on the health of the Haitian population and indicates requirements for future policy responses and interventions. Rezime: Kontak ak plon se bagay moun konnen byen poutèt gwo dega sa fè sou anviwonnman an ak sou sante moun, san konte dega li fè sou preske tout ògàn ak sistèm nan kò moun. Nan peyi Ayiti, menm si yo entèdi gaz ki gen plon depi 1998, plon an toujou kanpe kinalaganach nan anviwonnman an akoz pèsistans li ak kapa-site byoakimilasyon li genyen. Anplis, plon an gaye nan lè a (emisyon atmosferik), rezèv dlo anba tè nan vil yo riske kontamine ak plon. Popilasyon ayisyen nan vil yo ap viv ak yon pwoblèm sante an jeneral ki afekte sitou timoun yo ak fanm ansent ki pi fèb (vilnerab) yo. Pou nou konprann polisyon anviwonnman an sou zafè plon nan peyi Ayiti, nou fè yon revi leterati nan baz done MEDLINE / PUBMED sou plon nan dlo potab soti 1997 rive 2016. Kritè yo te rasanble tout etid ki te rapòte depasman limit kantite plon ki menase popilasyon an an jeneral ansanm ak etid ki evalye ris espozi-syon plon ki genyen nan dlo potab nan diferan kalite rejyon nan peyi a. Travay sa a bay yon apèsi sou espozisyon ak plon nan anviwonnman an, sou enpak li genyen sou sante popilasyon ayisyen an epi li bay egzijans pou genyen bon jan repons ak bon jan entèvansyon politik pou lavni.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement; Environnement et Société

Alexandra Emmanuel, Yanick Simon. Environmental lead exposure and its impact on the health of children, pregnant women and the general population in Haiti. Haïti Perspectives, 2018, 6. ⟨hal-02460771⟩