Afghanistan is facing a severe public health crisis due to widespread lead poisoning, with average blood lead levels nearly three times that of neighboring India and almost five times that of China, according to available data. A growing body of evidence suggests that traditional cooking pots, known as kazans, made from low-quality recycled aluminum may be a significant source of this contamination.

The issue came to light when researchers in the United States noticed alarmingly high blood lead levels among Afghan refugee children. In 2022, a study in Washington state tested various imported aluminum and stainless steel cooking pots, simulating cooking and food storage conditions. The results were startling: every aluminum cookware item donated by Afghan refugee families exceeded the US Food and Drug Administration’s limit for maximum lead intake from food. The kazans were particularly problematic, with one pot leaching enough lead to exceed the childhood limit by 650 times.

Following this research, several US states issued health warnings about the dangers of Afghan pressure cookers. Washington state went a step further, becoming the first to ban the manufacturing, sale, or distribution of lead-contaminated cooking pots.