NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - There is no clearly safe level of exposure to four of the most common environmental toxins in the world, and more should be done to protect the public, researchers argue in a new report.

"Emerging evidence indicates that exposures must be virtually eliminated to protect human health," conclude Dr. Donald Wigle, of the University of Ottawa in Canada, and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center in Ohio.

"These are widespread exposures," he said. "They're not rare."

Lead, for instance, is present in the air, soil and water, and it has become clear that even relatively low-level exposure can damage the developing brain in young children and fetuses, leading to learning and behavioral problems. In adults, lead exposure may raise blood pressure and damage the kidneys, brain and nerves.

In developed nations, much progress has been made in recent decades to reduce people's lead exposure, Wigle pointed out. Lead has been removed from gasoline, for instance, and it is no longer used in paints.

However, people in developing nations continue to be exposed to lead from these and other sources, Wigle noted. And in places like the U.S. and Canada, dust and chips from lead-based paints in older homes are still a prime source of exposure. Drinking water can also contain low levels of lead, especially if a home has old lead pipes.

In the U.S., the "level of concern" for blood lead levels is 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter (mcg/dL) of blood. However, Wigle and Lanphear point out, a number of studies in several countries have linked lead levels below that threshold to lower IQ scores.

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