‘275 million children at risk’: Gaurav Gogoi flags India’s ‘silent’ lead poisoning crisis

Assam Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has urged Union Health Minister JP Nadda to take immediate steps to address what he described as a “silent lead poisoning crisis” in India, warning of its particularly severe impact on children and communities living in mining and industrial areas.

In a letter to Nadda dated August 24, Gogoi said lead exposure had been affecting India for decades but had not received the policy attention warranted by the scale of the problem.

“India has been battling a silent lead poisoning crisis for decades,” Gogoi said in a post on X, adding that the issue remained “largely preventable”.

Citing national and global assessments, Gogoi said deaths in India attributed to lead exposure had increased by 21 per cent since 1990 and claimed that lead exposure was estimated to cause around 2.3 lakh deaths annually in the country.

He also flagged the scale of exposure among children, citing estimates that around 275 million Indian children have blood lead levels of 5 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL) or higher. Of these, around 64 million were estimated to have levels exceeding 10 µg/dL.

Gogoi said the consequences of lead exposure could be particularly damaging for children, including impaired cognitive development and reduced academic performance, while prolonged exposure in adults could contribute to cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

The Congress MP also raised concerns about lead contamination in food products. His letter cited a study conducted across 34 cities between 2021 and 2023 which found that 30 per cent of turmeric samples tested had lead levels above the permissible limit of 10 parts per million.

He further pointed to Ayurvedic medicines as another potential source of lead exposure and called for tighter monitoring of traditional formulations.

Gogoi urged the Health Ministry to establish district-level blood lead testing and surveillance programmes, with priority given to children, pregnant women and communities in mining, industrial and other high-risk areas.

He also called for stronger testing and treatment capacity at primary health centres and district hospitals, along with specialised training for frontline healthcare workers, including ASHA and Anganwadi workers.

Among his other recommendations was the use of District Mineral Foundation funds in mining-affected areas to establish diagnostic laboratories, procure testing equipment and support community-wide blood lead screening.

Gogoi also asked the government to direct the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to undertake a dedicated campaign against lead contamination in food and coordinate with the Ministry of AYUSH to strengthen testing and regulation of lead content in Ayurvedic formulations.

“Lead exposure has a compounded effect on public health, economy, education, crime and is a social burden,” Gogoi said, urging the Centre to take “decisive executive action” to protect children from the long-term consequences of exposure.