For months, the United States has campaigned to get the U.N. conference on cities to protect children against the devastating effects of lead poisoning.
On Tuesday, a key committee agreed to start eliminating leaded gasoline, a major cause of the poisoning.Two American officials - Michael Stegman, assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Cushing Dolbeare, who chaired a commission on lead hazards - called the accord an important victory that will save the health of millions of children.
A World Bank report released as the U.N. city conference began called lead poisoning the major environmental hazard in the Third World and said up to 18 million children in these countries may suffer permanent brain damage.
Even at very low levels, lead poisoning in children can cause developmental disabilities, hyper- activity, impaired growth, hearing loss, blood diseases, behavior problems, reduced attention span and decreased productivity.
The World Bank said most of the 1.7 billion city dwellers in developing countries are now at risk from lead poisoning.
More than 90 percent of young children in African cities and 29 percent in Mexico City are victims of lead poisoning, it said. In Bangkok, lead poisoning costs kids an average of four IQ points.
In the United States, where leaded gasoline has been eliminated, a medical survey said almost 2 million children still suffer from the effects of lead poisoning.
Depending on policy choices made in the next few years, the World Bank said lead emissions from vehicles in developing countries could either increase five times by the year 2030 or fall to very low levels by 2010.
Other major sources of lead include paint, plumbing fixtures, ceramic glazes, drinking water systems, cosmetics, crayons and industrial emissions.
Dolbeare said the agreement reached Tuesday calls for eliminating the use of lead in gasoline as soon as possible, eliminating uncontrolled exposure to lead and other heavy metals, and the need to seek "affordable alternatives."
Some countries have resisted efforts to convert to unleaded fuel because of the cost.