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Researchers: Oldest Evidence of

Lead Pollution Found in Greece

Ancient Greece produced the earliest records of democracy - and, scientists now say,

lead pollution.

That is the finding of a study that recently appeared in Communications Earth and

Environment. The researchers studied sediment cores removed from mainland Greece and below the Aegean Sea. They found in the cores the oldest known evidence of lead pollution in the environment dating back around 5,200 years.

That is 1,200 years older than the former oldest evidence of lead pollution. That

evidence was discovered in Serbia.

In ancient times, lead was released into the atmosphere as a product of copper and

silver production. The toxic, or poisonous, metal turned to dust over time and settled