An increase in lead exposure in children was linked to an increase in aggravated assault rates 22 years later. For instance, the peak in leaded gasoline use in the late 1970s corresponds to a peak in aggravated assault rates in the late 1990s in urban areas across the United States. History
Lead poisoning was among the first known and most widely studied work regarding environmental hazards. One of the first metals to be smelted and used, lead is thought to have been discovered and first mined in Anatolia around 6500 BC. Its density, workability, and corrosion resistance were among the metals attractions.In the 2nd century BC the Greek botanist Nicander described the colic and paralysis seen in lead-poisoned people. Dioscorides, a Greek physician who lived in the 1st century AD, wrote that lead makes the mind "give way".Lead was used extensively in Roman aqueducts from about 500 BC to 300 AD. Julius Caesars engineer, Vitruvius, reported, "water is much more wholesome from earthenware pipes than from lead pipes. For it seems to be made injurious by lead, because white lead is produced by it, and this is said to be harmful to the human body." Gout, prevalent in affluent Rome, is thought to be the result of lead, or leaded eating and drinking vessels. Sugar of lead (lead(II) acetate) was used to sweeten wine, and the gout that resulted from this was known as "saturnine" gout.
This case definition is used by the ABLES program, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE), and CDCs National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Previously (i.e. from 2009 until November 2015), the case definition for an elevated BLL was a BLL ≥10 µg/dL. The U.S. national BLL geometric mean among adults was 1.2 μg/dL in 2009–2010.Blood lead concentrations in poisoning victims have ranged from 30 to 80 µg/dL in children exposed to lead paint in older houses, 77–104 µg/dL in persons working with pottery glazes, 90–137 µg/dL in individuals consuming contaminated herbal medicines, 109–139 µg/dL in indoor shooting range instructors and as high as 330 µg/dL in those drinking fruit juices from glazed earthenware containers. Prevention
In most cases, lead poisoning is preventable by avoiding exposure to lead. Prevention strategies can be divided into individual (measures taken by a family), preventive medicine (identifying and intervening with high-risk individuals), and public health (reducing risk on a population level).Recommended steps by individuals to reduce the blood lead levels of children include increasing their frequency of hand washing and their intake of calcium and iron, discouraging them from putting their hands to their mouths, vacuuming frequently, and eliminating the presence of lead-containing objects such as blinds and jewellery in the house. In houses with lead pipes or plumbing solder, these can be replaced. Less permanent but cheaper methods include running water in the morning to flush out the most contaminated water, or adjusting the waters chemistry to prevent corrosion of pipes.