AUB professor awarded grant to study health impacts among working children

There are at least 50,000 working children in Lebanon, according to available estimates.

"This is a topic that has not been investigated, because many people believe you don't need any proof that children should not work at all," said Nuwahid. "While I also subscribe to this position, such a study will give our argument even more strength."

No other study in the world has been conducted on the effect of solvents in the workplace on working children, even though studies have been conducted on adults, he added. Solvents are liquid chemicals that are used in industry to dissolve other substances, such as grease, and may have toxic effects on human health.

Conducted in collaboration with the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in the USA, the study is sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the USA.

"The findings of this study will provide needed evidence to guide national and global policies on child labor and solvent neurotoxicity," said Nuwayhid. "The study will also serve as a baseline for a later cohort study in which the 200 children (exposed and not exposed) will be re-evaluated to detect the long-term toxic effects of solvents on the nervous system."

In other words, this study was set up in such a way as to allow scientists to conduct follow-up studies in the years to come and compare data from one study to the other.

Moreover, the study is being conducted with close collaboration from the Rene Moawad Foundation, which has projects aimed at eradicating illiteracy among working children. Scientists hope that this collaboration with a local NGO would help bring a practical outcome to the research. "We hope that it will ultimately help social workers succeed in improving working conditions for children," said Nuwayhid.

The research team will recruit 100 working children (10-17 years old) exposed to organic solvents (from mechanics shops) and another 100 working children (also 10-17 years) working in shops where there is no exposure to solvents from the Bab El-Tabbaneh neighborhood of Tripoli. The 200 children will be tested for clinical symptoms indicating effects on neurological performance, such as their concentratrion levels, their short-term memory and dexterity.

A medical exam will assess health effects and a specialized test battery will measure neurobehavioral effects of solvent exposure. Blood lead levels will be measured too. Solvent exposure will be measured in 10 children working in mechanics shops by observing them at work, measuring their exposue to solvents in the air, and taking urine samples to check how much solvents went into their bodies.

The study will be conducted by a multidisciplinary research team in Lebanon led by Nuwayhid in collaboration with child psychologist Samar Mukallid, clinical lab specialist Zuheir Habbal, occupational hygienist Berj Hatjian, biostatistician Mona Kanaan, child development specoalist Lina Kurdahi-Badr. Our international collaborators are Kent Anger, Diane Rohlman, and Dorothy Montgomery from OSHU and Donna Mergler from University of quebec at Montreal. The research team will collaborate closely with the Center for Working Children in Bab El-Tabbaneh which is managed by the Rene Moawad Foundation as part of their national program for the elimination of child labor sponsored by the US department of Labor, Cooperative Housing Foundation, and International Labor Organization.