Roger Masters' Study

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Posting from Susan Gawarecki

Upon reading the recent posting regarding "Environmental Pollution,
Neurotoxicity and Criminal Violence," by Roger D. Masters (Phd. with
Dartmouth College's Department of Government), several questions arose in my
mind: 

(1) What are his qualifications, especially regarding the medical aspects of
the study?

(2) Does he come to the issue with preconceived ideas that he is attempting
to prove, or has he seen consistent patterns (supported by statistically
significant data) that he feels should be brought to the attention of the
envirnomental, justice, and medical communities?

(3) Can he document exposures and/or blood level (or body burdens) of the
heavy metals above normal background in the at-risk population?

I have sent him a message asking for a copy of his work so I can judge for
myself, but would be cautious about accepting the summary as posted by Don
Zweifel at face value. For one thing, Don refers to "exposure and
receptivity to toxicological substances in the soil and drinking water
on-base and often beyond the primary area of concern (AOC) into the
surrounding communities." Of the many military bases I have done remedial
and site investigations at, none have had contaminated drinking water, and
exposure routes to the local population are generally lacking.

However, lead paint is ubiquitous in the older buildings, including on-base
housing (and older building elsewhere in the U.S.), and may be a significant
concern. To my knowledge, the military is concerned about and has been
making progress in identifying and removing lead paint from many buildings.

I don't know how one would separate the effects of heavy metal toxicity
(particularly at subclinical levels) from the effects of alcoholism and other
substance abuse, physical/mental abuse of children, cigarette smoking, poor
role models, poor nutrition and hygiene, childbearing at an early age with
associated low birthweight problems, and the myriad other factors that
families from low-income backgrounds tend to have and perpetuate. My guess
is that it's a minor factor, likely contributing to IQ decreases when lead
exposure is involved, rather than tendancies towards violence or anti-social
behavior.

I will be interested in reading Masters' study for myself.