Herbert Needleman

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Herbert Leroy Needleman (born December 13, 1927 in Philadelphia - † July 18, 2017 ) was an American pediatrician , child psychiatrist , researcher and professor at the University of Pittsburgh . He was best known for his research studies on neurodevelopmental damage in children caused by lead poisoning.

life and work

Needleman attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown , Pennsylvania , and then moved to the University of Pennsylvania Faculty of Medicine . He was an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and founder of the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning , which later merged with the National Center for Healthy Housing . Needleman’s studies from the late 1970s contributed to the ban on lead in paint and food packaging, as well as the ban on tetraethyl lead as a gasoline additive. As a result, the average blood lead content of an American fell by 90 percent in the 1990s compared to the 1970s. He died in 2017 at the age of 89.

Studies on the influence of lead

In the 1970s Needleman led at the Harvard Medical School conducted a study, the information provided that lead, even at very low doses the intelligence quotient can affect a child. In his studies, he found a correlation between the lead content in children's teeth and the lowering of the intelligence quotient, a shortened attention span and problems in acquiring language skills. In further studies, he found that lead poisoning has long-term effects on a child's behavior and academic success.

Awards

Needleman received a Heinz Award in 1996 and a Prince Mahidol Prize in 2003, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2008.

literature

  • Lydia Denworth: Toxic Truth: A Scientist, A Doctor, and the Battle over Lead. Beacon Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8070-0032-8

Publications

  • Herbert L. Needleman, Philip J. Landrigan: Raising Children Toxic Free: How to Keep Your Child Safe from Lead, Asbestos, Pesticides, and Other Environmental Hazards. Farrar Straus & Giroux, 1994, ISBN 978-0-3742-4643-3
  • Herbert Needleman: The Removal of Lead from Gasoline: Historical and Personal Reflections. In: Environmental Research . 84, 2000, pp. 20-35, doi: 10.1006 / enrs.2000.4069 .
  • Herbert L. Needleman, David Gee: Lead in petrol makes the mind "give way". Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation . Copenhagen, European Environment Agency, 2013.
  • Herbert L. Needleman: History of lead poisoning in the world . Lecture at the International Conference on lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment , Bangalore, 1999.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Herb Needleman - a public health hero
  2. ^ H. Needleman: Standing up to the lead industry: an interview with Herbert Needleman. Interview by David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz. In: Public health reports. Volume 120, number 3, 2005 May-Jun, pp. 330-337, doi : 10.1177 / 003335490512000319 , PMID 16134577 , PMC 1497712 (free full text).
  3. ↑ Dr. Herbert Needleman, Who Saw Lead's Wider Harm to Children, Dies at 89 .
personal data
SURNAME Needleman, Herbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Needleman, Herbert Leroy (full name); Needleman, Herb
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American pediatrician, child psychiatrist, and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH 18th July 2017