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Category: Air Pollution

  • The $6 Trillion Lead Poisoning Scandal Big Oil Tried To Hide for Decades

    The $6 Trillion Lead Poisoning Scandal Big Oil Tried To Hide for Decades

    Author Jeremiah Josey

    Executive Summary

    For over a century, humanity has paid the ultimate price for the insatiable greed of the fossil fuel industry. The story of tetraethyl lead (TEL) added to petrol—intentionally poisoning workers, children, and millions worldwide—is a stark and brutal example of corporate cruelty disguised as “progress.” Those deaths were never part of any conversation; profit was the sole concern.

    Today, as climate change accelerates and pollution kills 8.5 million people annually (WHO, 2023), the truth remains suppressed again. Liquid Fission Thorium (LFT) energy, a proven, clean, and nearly infinite source of power, capable of obliterating oil profits overnight and saving the planet, is deliberately kept from public awareness.

    This report exposes how the same forces that poisoned our children with leaded petrol actively suppress LFT, choosing profits over life repeatedly. The pattern is clear: corporations sell death to protect fortunes, and governments, bought and compromised, enable the carnage.

    Introduction: No “Economic Realities”—Only Profit and Death

    Profits—not “economic realities” or “political complexity”—have always been the brutal truth behind industrial poisonings, colonial massacres, and environmental destruction. The oil industry’s addition of lead to petrol was a deliberate choice to enrich shareholders at the catastrophic cost of human health.

    Workers died by the dozens during TEL’s early production. Millions of children suffered irreversible brain damage worldwide. No one asked if it was right or justified—it never entered the conversation. Corporate greed alone decided that killing people was an acceptable collateral cost.

    This historical lesson is no ancient tragedy. Today, Liquid Fission Thorium (LFT) energy stands ready to revolutionise the global energy system, eliminate fossil fuels, and save millions of lives lost annually to toxic air pollution. Yet, once again, corporate interests suppress this breakthrough because the survival of big oil—and their profits—depends on it.

    Part I: The Leaded Petrol Poisoning—A Century of Corporate Murder for Profit

    TEL: The Deadly Additive Created to Expand Oil Profits

    In the 1920s, General Motors and DuPont’s engineer Thomas Midgley Jr. synthesised TEL, a compound that allowed car engines to run faster and cheaper but was a potent neurotoxin. The Ethyl Corporation, formed to market TEL, unleashed it worldwide despite knowing its deadly effects.

    The goal was not worker safety or public health. It was profit maximisation through controlling a key additive that oil refiners could exploit.

    Workers Murdered and Poisoned, Covered Up to Protect Profits

    At the Bayway refinery in 1924, five workers died from lead poisoning. Ethyl Corporation responded with lies, denial, and intimidation. No accountability. No remorse. Deaths continued unabated. Even Thomas Midgley Jr. dies a horrible death due to lead poisoning.

    Oil and chemical companies financed falsified “safety” studies, suppressed whistleblowers, and bribed politicians to ensure TEL stayed in fuel for nearly 100 years.

    Millions died prematurely from cardiovascular and neurological diseases directly linked to lead exposure. The lives lost were a “cost of doing business”—never a matter of ethics or public debate.

    Part II: How Lead Devastates the Human Body—Irreversible Damage for Profit

    Lead is a ruthless poison that permanently damages the developing brain and multiple organ systems:

    • Mimics vital metals like calcium, zinc, and iron, disrupting cellular signalling and enzyme functions (Needleman, 2004).
    • Blocks haem synthesis enzymes, causing anaemia and oxidative cellular damage (Grandjean & Landrigan, 2014).
    • Induces oxidative stress destroying DNA, proteins, and lipids (Cousins et al., 2009).
    • Accumulates in bones for decades, releasing lead back into the body long after exposure ends (Landrigan et al., 2020).

    There is no safe exposure level. Lead destroys brains, bodies, and lives—pure and simple.

    Part III: Global Toll of Leaded Petrol—Millions Dead, Trillions Lost

    • Leaded petrol poisoning caused over 5 million premature deaths annually for decades, predominantly through cardiovascular, neurological, and kidney diseases (The Lancet Public Health, 2023).
    • Childhood brain damage from lead reduced IQ by 2-5 points on average worldwide, increasing behavioural disorders and societal costs (Grandjean & Landrigan, 2014).
    • The economic loss in productivity and healthcare exceeded 6 trillion USD per year for almost 100 years, overwhelmingly borne by the poorest countries forced to drag out lead use for economic gain of rich corporations (WHO, 2023).

    Part IV: The Shameful Timeline—The Last Countries to Poison Their Citizens

    The global phase-out of leaded petrol spanned decades, with many poor countries forced to continue using it to “burn stockpiles” and protect corporate profits:

    These deliberate delays were driven by corporate greed. Governments were bribed or intimidated. The smell of leaded petrol was kept in the air and children’s blood because flush profits mattered more than saving lives.

    Part V: The Suppression of Liquid Fission Thorium (LFT)—The Clean Energy Solution That Would Obliterate Fossil Fuel Profits Overnight

    LFT Is the Perfect Answer — But It Must Be Hidden

    Liquid Fission Thorium (LFT) energy provides near-limitless clean power, zero carbon emissions, and eliminates toxic air pollution that causes millions of deaths annually.

    Scientifically proven and technologically feasible, LFT reactors:

    • Produce far more energy than traditional uranium reactors with vastly reduced nuclear waste.
    • Operate safely, sustainably, and can power entire economies without fossil fuels.

    Were LFT deployed worldwide today, the oil industry would collapse in months, wiping out trillions in profits. This existential threat to fossil fuel monopolies explains why LFT remains systematically suppressed.

    History Repeating: From Lead Poisoning to Energy Suppression

    Just as corporations shoved lead into gasoline to fatten profits—recklessly poisoning workers and the public—they now engineer political and media campaigns to keep LFT out of public consciousness. The same lobbyists bribe politicians, fund misinformation, and block research funding.

    This suppression kills millions every year via continued global warming, toxic air pollution, and preventable diseases.

    Conclusion: Profits Over People – The Deadly Heart of the Fossil Fuel Industry

    The leaded petrol disaster was not an accident or oversight. It was cold-blooded corporate murder aided by complicit governments willing to sell out human health for campaign contributions and economic favours.

    Today, the suppression of Liquid Fission Thorium energy is the latest chapter in this ongoing story—a story of deliberate poisoning and deception so fossil fuel profits can continue to soar.

    The solutions exist. The lives that could be saved number in the millions every year. It is now a choice unequivocally made by those in power: keep poisoning or save humanity.

    At TheThorium.Network, we expose this truth without compromise because corporate avarice must no longer decide who lives and who dies.

    If you require a deeper technical overview of Liquid Fission Thorium technology, impact analyses, or historical industry interference case studies, TheThorium.Network stands ready to provide.

    References

    • Calabrese, E. J. (2013). Hormesis and the dose–response revolution. Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology, 53, 175–197.
    • Cousins, C. R., et al. (2009). Lead toxicity mechanisms and prevention. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 28(1), 27–34.
    • Dyni, J. R. (2006). The History of Leaded Gasoline and Its Health Impacts. US Geological Survey Report.
    • Feinendegen, L. E. (2005). Evidence for beneficial low-level radiation effects and radiation hormesis. British Journal of Radiology, 78(925), 3–7.
    • Grandjean, P., & Landrigan, P. J. (2014). Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity. The Lancet Neurology, 13(3), 330–338.
    • Landrigan, P. J., et al. (2020). The Lancet Commission on pollution and health. The Lancet, 391(10119), 462–512.
    • Needleman, H. (2004). Lead poisoning. Annual Review of Medicine, 55, 209–222.
    • NBC News Investigative Report (2023). The Poisoned Gas: How leaded gasoline blunted the IQ of half a generation.
    • The Lancet Public Health (2023). Lead exposure and health impact article.
    • World Health Organization (2023). Lead Poisoning and Health Fact Sheet.
    • Wikipedia contributors. “Tetraethyllead.” Wikipedia.
    • Quartz Africa (2021). “Leaded gasoline is now banned everywhere on Earth.”
    • Our World in Data (2021). Leaded Gasoline Phase-Out.

    Postscript

    The estimated global economic loss of approximately 6 trillion USD annually attributable to lead exposure—particularly from leaded petrol—results from extensive interdisciplinary research combining toxicology, epidemiology, labour economics, and demographic modelling.

    This figure predominantly arises from the calculation of lost lifetime economic productivity (LEP) due to lead-induced cognitive impairment in children. Scientific consensus establishes that childhood lead exposure lowers intelligence quotient (IQ) by an average of 2 to 5 points depending on exposure levels (Needleman, 2004; Grandjean & Landrigan, 2014). This IQ decrement is not trivial; it significantly hampers educational achievement, workforce participation, and lifetime earnings.

    Researchers globally estimate the economic impact by first modelling population blood lead levels through biomonitoring data and environmental measurements. Using dose-response relationships from toxicological studies, they calculate the average IQ loss per birth cohort in each country (Attina & Trasande, 2013). Labour economics research then translates these IQ losses into expected reductions in lifetime income, based on well-established correlations between cognitive ability and earnings (Tsai & Hatfield, 2011).

    To derive the aggregate global economic burden, individual country losses are scaled by population size and adjusted for income variations via purchasing power parity or GDP per capita (World Bank data). The resulting sums represent the worldwide loss in lifetime productivity.

    Importantly, lost IQ and associated productivity declines are only part of the picture. Lead exposure also elevates risks for cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney failure, and behavioural disorders, all of which increase healthcare costs, reduce work capacity, and impose broader social costs including criminal justice expenditures (Landrigan et al., 2020; The Lancet Public Health, 2023). These additional direct and indirect costs are integrated into economic models to capture the full extent of lead’s burden on societies.

    Premature mortality attributable to lead exposure further amplifies economic loss through lost years of economic contribution.

    Multiple meta-analyses and comprehensive studies, including those published in Environmental Health Perspectives (Attina & Trasande, 2013), The Lancet Public Health (2023), and reports from the World Health Organization (WHO, 2023), consistently estimate the total economic losses globally approaching 6 trillion USD each year, equating to roughly 7% of global GDP.

    This economic toll disproportionately affects low- and middle-income countries, where lead exposure remains highest and health and educational infrastructure are limited, exacerbating intergenerational poverty and health inequities.

    While precise quantifications vary with modelling assumptions and evolving data, the convergence of independent analyses underscores lead poisoning’s status as one of the world’s most damaging and preventable public health crises with catastrophic economic implications.

    In summary, the 6 trillion USD figure encapsulates the lifetime lost economic productivity, increased health and social service costs, and premature mortality caused by lead exposure worldwide. It starkly reveals the massive price humanity continues to pay for lead pollution sustained by decades of profit-driven negligence.

    References

    • Attina TM, Trasande L. (2013). Economic costs of childhood lead exposure in low- and middle-income countries. Environmental Health Perspectives, 121(9), 1097–1102.
    • Tsai SY, Hatfield J. (2011). Removing lead from gasoline worldwide: a step towards improving health and the environment. Environmental Health, 10(44).
    • World Bank. World Development Indicators, GDP per capita and Purchasing Power Parity Data.

    #CleanEnergy #BigOilExposed #LeadPoisoning #ClimateAction #SustainableEnergy #EnvironmentalJustice

    Social

  • Episode 15 – Clean Air and Water? Not with Fossil Fuels Around – Death by Fossil – Unintended Consequences – Chapter 7 Part 1

    Post created by Jeremiah Josey and the team at The Thorium Network

    What’s the Fossil Fuel Record? Millions of Air Pollution Deaths each year

    Fossil fuel air pollution responsible for more than 8 million people worldwide in 2018

    Loretta J. Mickley | Harvard
    February 9, 2021
    loretta j. mickley harvard close
    Loretta J. Mickley, Senior Research Fellow in Chemistry-Climate Interactions, Harvard

    Because the carbon industries are heavily subsidised, one might expect them to have exemplary safety and social records, but one would be wrong!

    According to the Guardian, 6 Oct 2021 “The IMF found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by USD 5.9tn in 2020″ Or USD 11 million a minute every day. This is according to a startling new estimate by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF has noted before that existing fossil fuel subsidies overwhelmingly go to the rich, with the wealthiest 20% of people getting six times as much as the poorest 20% in low and middle-income countries.

    IMF Logo Photo

    IMF found the production and burning of coal, oil and gas was subsidised by USD 5.9tn in 2020, or USD11 per minute.

    Guardian, 6 Oct 2021

    The ash derived from burning coal averages 80,000 pounds per American lifetime. Compare that to two pounds of nuclear “waste” for the same amount of electricity. The world’s 1,200 largest coal-fired plants cause 30,000 premature U.S. deaths every year plus hundreds of thousands of cases of lung and heart diseases.

    In 2006, the Sago coal mine disaster killed 12. A few years later, a West Virginia coal mine explosion killed 29. In May 2014, 240 miners died in a Turkish coal mine.

    ash from coal fired power station
    Normal Operations – Ash from Coal Fired Power Station – Tennessee Valley Authority

    Generating the 20% of U.S. electricity with nuclear power saves our atmosphere from being polluted with 177 million tons of greenhouse gases every year, but despite the increasing consequences of Climate Change and Ocean Acidification, the burning of carbon to make electricity is still rising.

    Scientific American, 13 Dec 2007: “Coal-fired plants expel mercury, arsenic, uranium, radon, cyanide and harmful particulates while exposing us to 100 times more radiation than nuclear plants that create no CO2. In fact, coal ash is more radioactive than any emission from any operating nuclear plant.”

    How Coal Kills 17 Feb 2015, EarthTalk (Doug Moss & Roddy Scheer), February 17, 2015

    us heath burden deaths from energy production
    The Human Cost of Energy
    Fossil fuels exact the biggest toll in terms of lives lost
    By     Mark Fischetti on September 1, 2011

    In one year, a CO2-free, 1,000 MW nuclear plant creates about 500 cu ft of spent fuel that can be recycled to retrieve useful U-238, reducing its bulk by about 90%. (An average U. S. bathroom is about that size.) In that same year, a 1,000 MW coal plant creates 65,000 tons of CO2 plus enough toxic ash to cover an entire football field to a height of at least 200 feet.

    Burning fossil fuels releases significant quantities of carbon dioxide, aggravating climate change. Although it gets less attention these days, combustion also emits volumes of pollutants, which can cause a variety of illnesses.
    Mark Fischetti

    U.S. Health Burden Caused by Particulate Pollution from Fossil-Fuelled Power Plants

    IllnessMean Number of Cases
    Asthma (hospital admissions)3,020
    Pneumonia  (hospital admissions)4,040
    Asthma (emergency room visits)7,160
    Cardiovascular ills (hospital admissions)9,720
    Chronic bronchitis18,600
    Premature deaths30,100
    Acute bronchitis59,000
    Asthma attacks603,000
    Lower respiratory ills630,000
    Upper respiratory ills679,000
    Lost workdays5.13 million
    Minor restricted-activity days26.3 million
    The Health Care Burden of Fossil Fuels

    Every year, we store 140 million tons of coal ash in unlined or poorly lined landfills and tailing ponds. In 2008, five million tons of toxic ash burst through a Tennessee berm (see below), destroying homes and fouling lakes and rivers.

    houses under ash sludge 2008
    Coal Ash Spill Revives Issue of Its Hazards 2008

    Coal-fired power plants leak more toxic pollution into America’s waters than any other industry. (A June, 2013 test found that arsenic levels leaking from unlined coal ash ponds were 300 times the safety level for drinking water.)

    And in 2014, North Carolina’s Duke Energy’s plant (now bankrupt) “spilled” 9,000 tons of toxic coal ash sludge into the Dan River. Why do they always say “spilled” – never “gushed?”

    duke ash spill dan river 2014
    Duke Ash Spill Dan River 2014

    Coal companies like to promote their supposedly “clean coal,” which really means “not quite so filthy,” but despite making an attempt at carbon capture and storage (CCS) at a new power plant in Saskatchewan, the plant has been a failure. (Burning fossil fuels causes 4.5 million early deaths per year.)

    CO2 Sequestration Critique by The Juice Media 2 Sept 2021

    CO2 removal devices use natural gas or electricity, which is usually generated by burning carbon. The moral hazard of removing CO2 from the air is that it justifies burning fossil fuels.

    Technology to Make Clean Energy from Coal is Stumbling in Practice

    carbon capture system at saskpower boundary dam powerstation
    Carbon Capture System at Saskpower Boundary Dam Powerstation


    An electrical plant in Saskatchewan was the great hope for industries that burn coal.

    In the first large-scale project of its kind, the plant was equipped with a technology that promised to pluck carbon out of the utility’s exhaust and bury it, transforming coal into a cleaner power source. In the months after opening, the utility and the government declared the project an unqualified success, but the USD 1.1 billion project is now looking like a dream.

    Known as SaskPower’s Boundary Dam 3, the project has been plagued by shutdowns, has fallen way short of its emissions targets, and faces an unresolved problem with its core technology. The costs, too, have soared, requiring tens of millions of dollars in new equipment and repairs.

    “At the outset, its economics were dubious,” said Cathy Sproule, a member of the legislature who released confidential internal documents about the project. “Now they’re a disaster….”

    New York Times by Ian Austen, 29 March 2016, Ottawa

    Even modern, 75% efficient coal-burners with thirty-year lifespans can’t compete with nuclear plants that have lifespans of 60 years and provide CO2-free power at 90% efficiency, and the new plants are even safer. In addition, our coal reserves will last 100 years at best. And as we “decarbonize”, we will require increasing amounts of electricity, and the only source of economical CO2-free, 24/7 power must be our new, super-safe, highly efficient nuclear reactors that cannot melt down.

    Note: The word “efficiency,” AKA “capacity factor,” in this book means the amount of electricity created over an extended period by wind, solar, etc. compared to their maximum power rating. Unfortunately, the maximum power rating is often used to sell the project. For nuclear reactors, this figure is at least 90%, but it is 33% for windmills and just 19 -22% for pv solar – and solar panel efficiency degrades by 1% per year during their short, 20 year lifespan. (Thermal efficiency is a separate matter.)

    When a gas pipeline exploded in 2010 at San Bruno, California, 8 people died, 35 homes were levelled and dozens more were damaged. In 2016, a federal government report stated that natural gas explosions cause heavy property damage, often with deaths, about 180 times per year – that’s every other day.

    bp deepwater horizon explosion and fire 8 june 2015
    GULF OF MEXICO – APRIL 21: In this handout image provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of the off shore oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico on April 21, 2010 near New Orleans, Louisiana. An estimated leak of 1,000 barrels of oil a day are still leaking into the gulf. Multiple Coast Guard helicopters, planes and cutters responded to rescue the Deepwater Horizon’s 126 person crew. (Photo by U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images)

    In 2010, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico “spilled” 200 million gallons of oil and killed 11 workers and 800,000 birds. Prior to that, an explosion at a Texas BP refinery killed fifteen workers. And BP, which was also involved in the Exxon Valdez “spill” in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, is just one of the many oil companies that we subsidise with USD 2.4 billion every year.

    william ophuls

    “‘Evolution is driven by the tendency of all organisms to expand their habitat and exploit the available resources… Just as bacteria in a Petri dish grow until they have consumed all of the nutrients, and then die in a toxic soup of their own waste.”

    William Ophuls

    Fossil fuels are far deadlier than nuclear power, New Scientist, 23 March 2011, Phil Mckenna

    new scientist deaths from energy 1
    Power Risks

    Coming up next week, Episode 16 – “Green” Means Everyone Gets Clean Air and Clean Water

    Links and References

    1. Next Episode – Episode 16 – “Green” Means Everyone Gets Clean Air and Clean Water
    2. Previous Episode – Episode 14 – What’s up Doc? Tremors from Fukushima – Unintended Consequences – Chapter 6, Part 2
    3. Launching the Unintended Consequences Series
    4. Dr. George Erickson on LinkedIn
    5. Dr. George Erickson’s Website, Tundracub.com
    6. The full pdf version of Unintended Consequences
    7. https://www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2021/02/deaths-fossil-fuel-emissions-higher-previously-thought
    8. https://www.seas.harvard.edu/person/loretta-mickley
    9. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2021/09/23/Still-Not-Getting-Energy-Prices-Right-A-Global-and-Country-Update-of-Fossil-Fuel-Subsidies-466004
    10. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/06/fossil-fuel-industry-subsidies-of-11m-dollars-a-minute-imf-finds
    11. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27406195
    12. https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2021/jun/21/tva-studies-idle-kingston-coal-plant/549068/
    13. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-coal-kills/
    14. https://earthtalk.org/
    15. https://www.linkedin.com/company/earthtalk/
    16. https://www.linkedin.com/in/roddy-scheer-2070722b/
    17. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-human-cost-of-energy/
    18. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/graphic-science-health-care-burden-of-fossil-fuels/
    19. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fischetti-7482609/
    20. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/25/us/25sludge.html
    21. https://news.stlpublicradio.org/health-science-environment/2014-12-19/first-ever-national-coal-ash-regs-disappoint-missouri-environmentalists
    22. https://www.epa.gov/radtown/radioactive-wastes-coal-fired-power-plants
    23. https://www.southernenvironment.org/news/duke-energy-pleads-guilty-to-environmental-crimes-in-north-carolina/
    24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSZgoFyuHC8
    25. https://www.thejuicemedia.com/
    26. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/30/business/energy-environment/technology-to-make-clean-energy-from-coal-is-stumbling-in-practice.html
    27. https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/07/19/false-solution-500-groups-urge-us-canadian-leaders-reject-carbon-capture
    28. https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherine-sproule-a049944a/
    29. https://www.nytimes.com/by/ian-austen
    30. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-great-invisible-a-new_b_7532262
    31. https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/15265-small-modular-reactors-generating-interest-among-municipalities-in-finland.html
    32. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-austen-0a10a944/
    33. https://ccsknowledge.com/news/next-generation-ccs–beyond-coal
    34. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill
    35. https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-ophuls-9b3171225/
    36. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Ophuls
    37. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928053-600-fossil-fuels-are-far-deadlier-than-nuclear-power/
    38. https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-mckenna-75930b7/
    39. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20928050-200-risk-expert-why-radiation-fears-are-often-exaggerated/

    #UnintendedConsequences #GeorgeErickson #FissionEnergy #NuclearEnergy #FossilFuels #ParticulatePollution #AirPollution #WaterPollution