Dhaka, Nov. 16 -- Nearly 40 per cent of children in Bangladesh have "worrying" levels of lead in their blood, according to a new study by UNICEF and the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).

It said, "Thirty-eight per cent of children aged 12 to 59 months (i.e. nearly four children in every 10) and nearly 8 per cent of pregnant women have blood lead levels above the safe limit."

Dhaka residents were the most severely affected, with 65 per cent registering levels above the safe limit, says a bdnews24.com report.

UNICEF says lead pollution poses a threat to children's brain development and impacts all socio-economic classes.

More than half of the affected children are from higher-income families, while 30 per cent are from lower-income...