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Title: Cognitive Disparities, Lead Plumbing, and Water Chemistry: Intelligence Test Scores and Exposure to Water-Borne Lead Among World War Two U.S. Army Enlistees

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2011

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Abstract: Assessing the impact of lead exposure is difficult if individuals select into environments with different exposure levels on the basis of their characteristics.We address this issue with data from when the dangers of lead exposure were still largely unknown, using new evidence on IQ scores for male World War II U.S. Army enlistees who have been linked to the households where they resided in 1930. Higher exposure to water-borne lead (proxied by urban residence and low water pH levels) led to lower IQ scores: going from pH 6 to pH 5.5 lowered IQ by 5.7 points (1/4 standard deviation). A longer time exposed led to a more severe effect. The ubiquity of lead in urban water systems at this time and uncertainty regarding its impact mean these effects are unlikely to have resulted from selection into locations with different levels of exposure.

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Authors: Troesken, Werner; Rolf, Karen; Ferrie, Joseph P.

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Health

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