来源：《新科学家》
原文刊登日期：2022年3月7日
More than half of people in the US may have a slightly lower IQ as a result of inhaling exhaust gases from vehicles run on leaded petrol when they were children. The harm is thought to be most pronounced among people born in the 1960s and 1970s, when use of this fuel was at its peak.
在美国，超过一半的人可能会因为在孩提时代吸入使用含铅汽油的车辆排放的废气而智商稍低。学者认为，这种危害在20世纪60年代和70年代出生的人中最为明显，当时这种燃料的使用正处于高峰期。
Similar effects have probably occurred in other high-income countries, says Aaron Reuben at Duke University in North Carolina. “Patterns of lead use in gasoline throughout the last century were very similar across developed countries.”
北卡罗来纳州杜克大学的亚伦·鲁本说，类似的影响可能也发生在其他高收入国家。“上个世纪，发达国家汽油中铅的使用模式非常相似。”
Lead began being added to petrol in the 1920s to make car engines run more smoothly. If the substance enters the brain, it can disrupt nerve signalling and, at higher levels, kill brain cells. Young children are particularly susceptible due to the metal disrupting brain development.
20世纪20年代，铅开始被添加到汽油中，以使汽车发动机运转更平稳。如果这种物质进入大脑，它会干扰神经信号，如果浓度高，还会杀死脑细胞。由于铅干扰大脑发育，幼儿尤其容易受到影响。
Using data from a national survey, Reuben and his colleagues analysed the circulating lead levels of over 11,600 children aged 1 to 5 years from blood samples drawn between 1976 and 2016. They also estimated blood lead levels for the period from 1940 to 1975 based on leaded petrol use during that time. This data was then linked to an established formula of how lead exposure influences IQ.
利用一项全国性调查的数据，鲁本和他的同事分析了1976年至2016年间采集的11600名1至5岁儿童岁儿童血液样本中的循环铅含量。他们还根据1940年到1975年期间含铅汽油的使用情况，估计了当时血液中的铅含量。然后将这些数据与一个铅接触如何影响智商的权威公式联系起来。
Their results suggest half the current US population had elevated lead levels in their blood as children. Across the country, they estimate that lead exposure may have caused an average IQ drop of 2.6 points. People born in the mid-to-late 1960s may have lost an average of 5.9 points.
他们的研究结果表明，目前一半的美国人在儿童时期血液中的铅含量都很高。他们估计，在全美范围内，接触铅可能导致平均智商下降2.6分。上世纪60年代中后期出生的人的平均智商可能会下降5.9分。
In the 1970s, it was recognised that tiny particles of lead in exhaust fumes could enter people’s bloodstreams and higher environmental levels of the metal were linked with worse school performance in children.
20世纪70年代，人们认识到废气中的微小铅颗粒会进入人体血液，环境中的铅含量越高，儿童的学习成绩就越差。
Leaded gasoline was banned for use in road vehicles in the US in 1996 and in the UK in 2000. The latest study demonstrates the enduring effects of certain environmental toxins, says Mathew Hauer at Florida State University, who was involved in the work. “The long legacy is really important. The effects can last for a significant amount of time. This could be the case with other toxins.”
1996年，美国禁止使用含铅汽油，2000年，英国禁止使用含铅汽油。佛罗里达州立大学的马修·豪尔参与了这项研究，他说，最新的研究证明了某些环境毒素的持久影响。“长期的遗留问题真的很重要。这种影响可以持续很长时间。其他毒素可能也是如此。”