■2005年03月09日：鉛と若者の暴力

■2005年03月09日放送： 「Lead and Violence in Young People」 「鉛と若者の暴力」 ──────────────────────────────────── ■音声ファイル(MP3形式、約４分) ftp://8475.ftp.storage.akadns.net/mp3/voa/english/spec/spec0041a0309.mp3 　「右クリック」→「対象をファイルに保存」等にてダウンロードしてください ──────────────────────────────────── ■要約 鉛が若者の暴力の大きな原因であると述べている研究者がいます。鉛は神経細胞 に影響を与えるのです。ガソリンや塗料に鉛は使われなくなりました。しかし古 い水道管や輸入の装飾品に未だ鉛が使われています。 ──────────────────────────────────── ■解説 生物学的に犯罪の原因を探った本に「犯罪に向かう脳」という本があります。 面白い本なので、一読をおすすめします。 （論拠となるデータが少なめですが、データを多くすると本の面白みが減るので 仕方ないでしょう。） どのような人が犯罪を起こしやすいか分かったとしても、そういった人にどう対 応するかは難しい問題です。 ひとつ間違えれば危険な思想につながりますから。 ──────────────────────────────────── ■英語原稿 I'm Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Health Report. A researcher says lead【(名)鉛、優位】 in the environment could be a major cause of violence by young people. Doctor Herbert Needleman is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania. He presented his findings at the yearly【(形)毎年の、例年の】 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science【(名)米国科学振興協会】. Doctor Needleman says the presence of lead in the brain changes the neurons【neuron(名)神経細胞、神経単位】 that control actions. And he says that can cause a person to act in antisocial and criminal ways. Lead is a metal that is especially dangerous to babies and young children. They can get it into their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or pieces of lead paint. Children with high levels of lead can suffer brain and nervous system damage, learning disabilities, slow growth, headaches and hearing loss. In the nineteen seventies, Doctor Needleman found lower scores on intelligence tests even in children who did not have such signs of lead poisoning. After that, lead was removed from gasoline and paint in the United States. Yet many homes still have old lead paint. Lead was also used in older water pipes. In fact, officials just announced stronger testing and reporting requirements as of next year for lead in American drinking water. The newest research by Doctor Needleman shows that even very small amounts of lead in bones can affect brain development. A simple blood test can measure lead. But an X-ray process is needed to measure levels in bone. In two thousand two, such tests were done on one hundred ninety young people who were in jail. The findings showed that their average levels were higher than normal. And, in nineteen ninety-six, three hundred children were studied. Test scores showed higher levels of aggression【(名)攻撃性】 and learning problems in those with increased levels of lead. Yet these levels were still considered safe by the government. Doctor Needleman and other experts say all this research shows that one way to reduce crime is to keep young children away from lead. That will not be easy. Just last week, the government warned Americans about charm jewelry with high levels of lead. These metal charms were made in China and sold in some arts and crafts stores in the United States. An American company is now trying to recall almost three million of them. This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Gwen Outen.