Manganese Link to Verbal Disability Discovered
November 21 , 2005
A recent groundbreaking study conducted in Miami, Oklahoma revealed that levels of manganese and arsenic in children's hair directly correlated to learning disabilities in those children. Dr. David Bellinger from the Children's Hospital in Boston conducted the study with seed money given by Harvard University.
The children were all given a series of mental and verbal ability tests for about two and a half hours apiece. The findings revealed that children with manganese and arsenic exposure had a much greater reduced capacity for verbal learning. The findings were particularly alarming due to the small number of the subjects (32) and their widely disparate results which directly correlated to manganese and arsenic levels.
The study was conducted in Miami because it was the site of a former mining colony and the current site of a controversial government hazardous waste center in the 1980s. The area had abnormally high levels of heavy-metal concentration for hundreds of years.
While the study has shocked many in the scientific community, further studies are now underway in order to place this study in context. Children from other areas are set to be tested and other factors will be looked at as well.
Resident groups in the area have banded together and are demanding explanations from the government and other companies and individuals.
To learn more about manganese exposure and its various side effects, contact a manganese attorney.
