PESHAWAR, June 7: A survey conducted by medical students has indicated that most of the children working in local automobile workshops are suffering from a host of medical problems because of a hazardous environment which exposed them to lead. The survey has urged the government to enact a law to protect children’s rights.
During the course of the survey conducted by the Pakistan Medical and Research Council (PMRC) of the Khyber Medical College (KMC), 150 children in 120 workshops of the city were interviewed. These automobile workshops, the study revealed employed 2,300 children, 95 per cent of whom belonged to low-income families.
It said that 20 per cent of the children were suffering from headache, 15 per cent from memory loss, seven per cent from deafness and 90 per cent from generalized body pain.
Speech disorder, weakness, nausea, depression, low IQ, growth retardation, and damage of renal and central nervous system were other medical complications caused by children’s exposure to lead.
Almost all the children had an elevated level of lead, low haemoglobin and calcium concentration, which was the cause of a host of medical complications for these children, most of whom also happened to be minors.
Moreover, the nature of work was found to be extremely hazardous and the duration of work long.
It said that 87 per cent of the children were being forced to do the job, whereas almost 100 per cent were unaware of the safety measures.
The owners of the automobile workshops are satisfied with the performance of these children because they are easier to handle than adults. Furthermore, children can be compelled to work for longer hours on lower wages.
According to the data of the excise and motor vehicle registration authority, Peshawar, about 1.5million vehicles were being used on the city’s roads per month. Out of this, 22 per cent were old and needed frequent repairs for which they were taken to the workshops.
According to the survey, lead poisoning in occupational exposure was first reported in 370 BC.
Where occupational exposure is concerned, children are at greater risk because of their growing age, rapid absorption and less precautions.
It said that poor children were the worst sufferers due to inadequate nutrition and deficiency of micro-nutrients. Besides, the children ingest more lead by putting their fingers inside their mouth frequently.
Citing a study conducted in the United States, it said that lead was on the top of the list of the five worst environmental threats affecting children’s health.
The survey recommended that the workshops’ owners should minimize duty hours of the children, apart from putting in place safety measures for the children.
It recommended that doctors should visit the workshops to treat the children working there and the government was required to implement the law prohibiting child labour in letter and in spirit.
It said that 0.4 gram lead is added to one litre regular petrol, 0.63 to super and 0.84 to high octane petrol as an anti-knock agent in Pakistan. About 25 per cent of the lead is retained in the cars’ body, whereas 75 per cent goes to the atmosphere in the form of toxic fumes. A study revealed that a single car added 0.9-1.8 grams lead to the atmosphere during a 20km journey. Another study, it said, had shown that the lead level in the blood of the surrounding population had dropped to 36.7 per cent when the lead was removed from the petrol.
It said that owing to the known hazardous affects associated with lead, 42 countries around the world had removed it from petrol in the year 2000, while India and 12 other countries had committed themselves to removing it by the end of this year. However, Pakistan along with 149 other countries still remains undecided.