What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City (One World Essentials)

by Mona Hanna-Attisha

Lead exposure is known as a silent epidemic because there are no immediate signs of it. But once it was in her bloodstream, the lead would enter her red blood cells and wreak havoc, interfering with the mitochondria, the part of the cell where energy is produced. It would go on to disrupt the formation of the dendrites, disturb the myelin sheath that surrounds nerve fibers, and interrupt the way hemoglobin carries oxygen through Nakala’s body. It would settle in her soft tissue and her bones, where it would crowd out calcium. Some heavy metals—iron, copper, zinc, selenium—have health benefits in small amounts. But not lead. It does only harm. Nakala’s central nervous system would receive the worst impact from the lead, primarily in her still-developing brain. A significant amount of lead exposure can cause swelling of the brain, headaches, lethargy, anemia, dizziness, muscular paralysis, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, and abdominal pain. It can affect vision and hearing, and in extreme cases, it can cause kidney failure, coma, and death. Even at lower, single-digit levels, the damage is irreversible. For an infant like Nakala or a two-year-old like Reeva, enough exposure can mean developmental delays, cognitive impairment—literally, a drop in IQ—as well as memory issues, attention and mood disorders, and aggressive behavior. Brain scans show that lead exposure in children causes an erosion of gray matter that makes it harder to pay attention, regulate emotions, and contr...