Lead Exposure in Last Century Shrank IQ Scores of Half of Americans

Lead
Leaded gasoline calculation to have stolen over 800 million cumulative IQ points since 1940s

In 1923, lead was first added to gasoline to help keep car engines healthy. However, automotive health came at the great expense of our own well-being.

A new study calculates that exposure to car exhaust from leaded gas during childhood stole a collective 824 million IQ points from more than 170 million Americans alive today, about half the population of the United States. Read more here.