Childhood lead exposure causes a reduction in intellectual functioning and
IQ,
academic performance, and
problem-solving skills, and an increased risk of
attention deficit disorder, aggression, and hyperactivity. According to studies, children with elevated levels of lead in the blood are more likely as adults to commit crimes, be imprisoned, be unemployed or underemployed, or be dependent on government services.
[143][144][145] A 2014 study by researchers at Risk Science Center at the
University of Michigan, completed before the Flint water crisis came to light, estimated the annual cost of childhood lead exposure in Michigan at $330 million ($205 million in decreases in lifetime earnings, $105 million in additional
criminal justice system expenditures, $18 million in health expenditures to diagnose and lead positioning and lead-linked attention deficit disorder), and $2.5 million in additional
special education expenditures.
[143]
Because the developmental effects of lead exposure appear over a series of years,
[146] the total long-term cost of the Flint water crisis "will not be apparent in the short term."
[147] However, the cost is expected to be high.
Philippe Grandjean of the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, an expert in the effects of environmental pollution on brain development, said that "when calculated from the loss of lifetime income, the societal costs from increased lead exposure reach billion dollar amounts."
[147]