Study reveals high lead levels in breast milk in six Bihar districts
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Health experts involved in the study said lead poisoning through breast milk poses a serious risk to children's mental development and can cause other health issues. They warned that exposure to lead in newborns can result in premature birth, low birth weight, slow growth, anaemia and damage to the brain, bones and muscles.
According to MCSRC scientist Abhinav Srivastava, lead was found in 92% of breast milk samples, with the highest level reaching 1,309 micrograms per litre (µg/L).
Lead was also present in the blood of 87% of the women with a maximum reading of 677.2 µg/L. The study found that contaminated soil can pass lead into food items such as vegetables and grains, which eventually enters the human body and breast milk.
The team found that wheat, rice and potatoes – common staple foods – are likely sources of lead exposure. This, they said, can cause reduced IQ, memory problems and poor mental growth in children.
Ashok Kumar Ghosh, a senior scientist in the team, said, "Initially we studied arsenic contamination in drinking water in the districts located along the Ganga river. Following this, we decided to examine breast milk and found lead poisoning alongside arsenic, both of which are fatal to breast-feeding children."
The lead exposure study was carried out in Samastipur, Darbhanga, Begusarai, Khagaria, Munger and Nalanda.
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A total of 327 women aged between 17 and 40 years were included in the study. The results showed that 80% of them were at high risk of lead exposure.
Among 88 women tested for blood lead levels, only 17% had values below the permissible limit of 50 µg/L. The rest had higher levels. In breast milk, only 8% of samples were within the safe limit of 5 µg/L while 92% crossed it. In urine samples, 62% of mothers and 62% of children had lead levels above safe limits, with one mother's urine containing 4,168 µg/L of lead.
The study's GIS mapping showed differences in lead exposure between areas. It pointed to contaminated food crops as the main route of lead entering the body. The contamination may be natural, from the soil, but other sources were also observed.
These include adulterated turmeric, some Ayurvedic medicines, whitening creams and the widespread use of pesticides in farming.
The findings raise concerns about the health of mothers and children in rural Bihar where toxic metals are entering homes through food and water. Experts have called for urgent steps to identify sources of contamination and protect women and children from further exposure.
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