A medical survey has found alarming levels of lead in the blood of police officials controlling traffic at some 400 intersections of the city, which may lead to fatal diseases along with "intellectual and behavioural deficits'. Officials at the police's traffic department said the sample medical tests of some 700 policemen were conducted during the last few weeks through a recognized medical institution, which came up with a common report of higher lead levels among the law enforcers. "Tests of 87 personnel belonging to the Garden traffic police have been reported as the most exposed to lead,' said SP Mohib Ali, SP Traffic Zone I. "The final report from the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences of the Aga Khan University suggests that 80 per cent of policemen have alarming levels of lead in their blood, with some as high as 33.49 micrograms per deci-litre.' He said the department had been informed that lead levels of 20 micrograms per deci-litre in human blood were considered not fatal in this part of the world, but unfortunately, this was not the case in the tests reported to the police high-ups. The test reports of 271 policemen acquired by Dawn suggest lead levels ranging between 25 and 30 micrograms per deci-litre in their blood. The policemen belonged to the Garden, Preedy, Artillery Maidan and Karachi Cantt traffic sections. Findings of the medical examinations do not appear surprising for the police authorities, who had already been anticipating a negative outcome. However, the results have attracted warnings from experts, who believe timely action from the people concerned may prevent further damage to the health of policemen. They said adverse health effects caused by lead exposure include intellectual and behavioural deficits along with hypertension and kidney disease. "It also affects one's nerves,' said Professor Dr Abid Hasnain at the department of food science and technology of the University of Karachi. "People who are exposed to lead become hyper and irritable. But these are the symptoms of such exposure. It could (prove) fatal with the increase in lead levels.' He said the presence of neurotoxins was one of the most witnessed results of increased lead levels in the blood and one could better understand its implication on human health. The experts' opinions match concerns at the Central Police Office (CPO), where the high-ups have decided to start providing regular medication to the affected policemen with medical check-ups of selected groups every week. Though the 3,000 traffic constables, ASIs and inspectors who control the growing and extremely undisciplined traffic in the city in two shifts of eight hours each have yet to witness a positive change, the high-ups claim medical facilities for the affected policemen would be visible in the days to come. "We have designed a plan after such medical observations came to light, under which we have decided to conduct medical tests of at least four persons every week and provide their prescribed medication for proper treatment,' said Wajid Ali Durrani, DIG Traffic. He said till a few years back, policemen had free medication and treatment facilities at every government hospital. But these benefits were withdrawn with Rs500 monthly medical allowance for each policeman. "Despite such facts, I am very much aware of the hardships of my officers, so we (the traffic police department) on our own have managed to establish a welfare fund purely for the officials' financial facilitation. It also includes financing facility for medical reasons and so far, we have disbursed around a million rupees among the deserving officials,' he added.