Foreign Lead Accumulation in Modern Japanese 1996.10.15

The National Institute for Environmental Studies of the Environment Agency has examined the bones of Jomon, Edo, and modern humans and compiled an analysis showing that "foreign lead has accumulated in the bones of modern humans. The institute suspects that foreign lead, which was contained in gasoline by the 1970s when air pollution became serious, may be the cause. The total amount of lead accumulated in the bones of Edo and modern humans is 10 times higher than that of the Jomon people. The high concentration in the Edo period is believed to be due to the effects of oshiroi.