Pilot project to test children’s lead exposure launches in four cities of Kazakhstan

Four cities of Kazakhstan, including Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Karagandy and Shymkent, launched a pilot project to test children for lead content in their bodies. Children can get tested for metal levels absolutely free of charge. Based on the collected data, experts intend to develop a number of general recommendations and standards for the use of lead in Kazakhstan. Experts call this metal number one ecotoxicant. It can hide everywhere, including the industrial plants, exhaust gases, low-quality products of bright colors and cosmetics. Lead tends to accumulate and settle in organs, affecting bone tissue, haematological system and the mind.

“The National Center of Public Health, together with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is conducting such a study. Overall, 1,000 children between the ages of four and eleven will be tested. In the future, it is planned to nationalize the project and conduct the study in Oskemen city and Western Kazakhstan. We will test for lead exposure,” said director of a medical center Almaz Narbayev.