What did the Romans do for us apart from sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, fresh water systems, and sanitation?Monty Python's Life of Brian asks an exasperated Reg.
One answer, according to a new study, is the cognitive decline that spread across Europe thanks to the lead pollution produced in large quantities by the booming metal industries that shaped the empire.
Researchers say atmospheric lead pollution skyrocketed at the height of the empire, especially due to the massive expansion of metal ore mining and processing, leading to an estimated 2-3 point decline in IQ across the country.
“It's amazing that we were able to quantify air pollution in Europe almost 2,000 years ago and assess its potential health effects on ancient Roman civilization,” said Dr. Joseph McConnell of the Desert Research Institute in Nevada. spoke.
“Our findings show that anthropogenic emissions from industrial activities have caused widespread harm to human health for over 2000 years, which is quite serious in my view,” he said. added.
Although Roman doctors were aware of the dangers of lead poisoning, the metal was still widely used in water pipes and cooking pots, as well as in medicines, cosmetics, and toys. The metal was also intentionally ingested after the Romans discovered that lead-containing syrups were useful for preserving and sweetening wine.
Lead poisoning from contaminated food and wine was likely to be a concern for the upper classes, but the entire population would have been breathing in the lead produced by the empire's vast mines and smelting operations. , lead is a byproduct of silver and gold smelters.
To trace levels of lead pollution in the atmosphere back to Roman times, McConnell and an international team of researchers analyzed ice cores drilled from the North Pole. The core provided a timeline of atmospheric lead concentrations from 500 BC to 600 BC.
Writing in progress Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesresearchers describe how ice cores revealed a sharp increase in lead pollution around 15 BC, after the rise of the Roman Empire. Thereafter, this level remained high until the decline of the Pax Romana, which lasted 200 years of relative peace and prosperity, ending in 180 AD. McConnell estimates that the Empire released more than 500,000 tons of lead into the atmosphere over this period.
To understand what impact the pollution had, scientists turned to atmospheric models to map how lead spread across Europe. They then used modern research to calculate how much neurotoxic metal accumulates in children's bodies and the effect it has on their IQ.
Researchers found that, on average, at the height of the Roman Empire, lead levels in children's blood rose by 2.4 micrograms per deciliter, and children's IQs may have dropped by 2.5 to 3 points. did. When background lead is taken into account, a child's blood level may reach approximately 3.5 micrograms per deciliter.
According to some estimates, the population of the Roman Empire reached more than 80 million people at its peak, meaning that about a quarter of the world's population could have been exposed to lead pollution caused by mining and smelting. It means that there is a gender. The effects of lead poisoning can be so severe that scholars say: discussed whether it is or not contributed Towards the collapse of the empire.
“A 2.5 to 3 point decline in IQ may not sound like a big deal, but it would have been across the entire population and for nearly 180 years of the Pax Romana,” McConnell said. “We leave it to epidemiologists, ancient historians, and archaeologists to determine whether the levels of background atmospheric lead pollution and health effects we have identified are sufficient to change history.”
Atmospheric lead pollution declined after the Roman Empire, rose again during the High Middle Ages, and skyrocketed in the 20th century due to the Industrial Revolution and the burning of fossil fuels, including leaded fuel for vehicles. a 2021 survey According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between the late 1970s, when leaded fuel was banned, and 2016, blood levels in children between the ages of 1 and 5 dropped from 15.2 micrograms per deciliter to 0.83 micrograms per deciliter. It turned out that it did.
