How much lead is safe to drink?
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
The report concludes that the high amounts of lead in the drinking water may have led to a slight rise of the blood levels; however, it claimed that ""no children were identified with BLLs >10µg/dL, even in homes with the highest water lead levels"". It notes that 10 µg/dL was "CDC's BLL of concern for children" since 1991. The report also claimed that the average levels were sinking with time. On the other hand, the report found some cases of children with BLLs > 5 µg/dL; and also stated that actually "no safe BLL has been identified". Therefore, the report recommends that efforts should be made to eliminate lead in children's blood entirely, and in particular, that the authorities should take measures to ensure that the amount of lead in drinking water always should be less than 15 PPM.
Copper
The U.S. Institute of Medicine (IOM) updated the estimated average requirements (EARs) and recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) for copper in 2001. If there is not sufficient information to establish EARs and RDAs, an estimate designated [[Adequate Intake]] (AI) is used instead. The AIs for copper are: 200 μg of copper for 0–6-month-old males and females, and 220 μg of copper for 7–12-month-old males and females. The RDAs for copper are: 340 μg of copper for 1–3-year-old males, 440 μg of copper for 4–8-year-old males, 700 μg of copper for 9–13-year-old males, 890 μg of copper for 14–18-year-old males, and 900 μg of copper for males that are 19 years old and older. The RDAs for copper are: 340 μg of copper for 1–3-year-old females, 440 μg of copper for 4–8-year-old females, 700 μg of copper for 9–13-year-old females, 890 μg of copper for 14–18-year-old females, and 900 μg of copper for females that are 19 years old and older. The RDAs for copper are: 1,000 μg of copper for 14–50-year-old pregnant females; furthermore, 1,300 μg of copper for 14–50-year-old lactating females. As for safety, the IOM also sets [[Tolerable upper intake level]]s (ULs) for vitamins and minerals when evidence is sufficient. In the case of copper the UL is set at 10 mg/day. Collectively the EARs, RDAs, AIs and ULs are referred to as [[Dietary Reference Intake]]s.
Environmental impact of Mardi Gras beads
Lead, cadmium, and other elements have been detected in beads in extremely high amounts through various analytical techniques. Many of these elements exceed the suggested safety limits set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. For example, the safe amount of lead in a product is 100 ppm; however, there have been findings where the amount of lead in a bead surpassed the limit 300 times over. This threatens parade-goers with exposure to high amounts of lead, especially younger children that could potentially put the beads in their mouths.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
At an oversight hearing before the House Committee on Government Reform in early March 2004, Marc Edwards testified that his studies showed the change from chlorine to chloramine was the cause of the elevated lead levels. He stated that the chloramine-treated water was leaching lead not only from the old lead lines, but also from brass fixtures in homes. Brass is made with lead; even brass classified as "lead free" under the Safe Drinking Water Act can contain up to eight percent lead. Edwards said that this could be the cause of the high lead levels in areas where WASA did not use lead lines. He also cautioned that replacing lead service lines with copper could make the problem worse; newly installed copper lines could react with the chloramine in a way that would increase corrosion of the remaining lead lines in the system. The chief of the Washington Aqueduct disagreed, saying that tests taken after the chloramine treatment commenced didn't show any additional corrosiveness. He believed corrosion inhibitors, like orthophosphate, could be added to the water to prevent lead leaching. In the spring of 2004, a temporary switch from chloramine back to chlorine for annual pipe flushing caused a 25 to 30 percent drop in lead levels, lending credence to the chloramine theory. In one home that was tested by WASA before and after the switch, lead levels dropped tenfold.
Franklin's lost expedition
Subsequent research has suggested that another potential source for the lead may have been the ships' fresh-water systems rather than the tinned food. K.T.H. Farrer argued that "it is impossible to see how one could ingest from the canned food the amount of lead, 3.3 mg per day over eight months, required to raise the PbB to the level 80 μg/dL at which symptoms of lead poisoning begin to appear in adults and the suggestion that bone lead in adults could be 'swamped' by lead ingested from food over a period of a few months, or even three years, seems scarcely tenable." In addition, tinned food was in widespread use within the Royal Navy at that time and its use did not lead to any significant increase in lead poisoning elsewhere. However, and uniquely for this expedition only, the ships were fitted with converted railway locomotive engines for auxiliary propulsion which required an estimated one tonne of fresh water per hour when steaming. It is highly probable that it was for this reason that the ships were fitted with a unique water distillation system which, given the materials in use at the time, would have produced large quantities of water with a very high lead content. William Battersby has argued that this is a much more likely source for the high levels of lead observed in the remains of expedition members than the tinned food.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
This first "Post" article was the first public mention of the theory that the lead levels were tied to chloramine. The traditional use of chlorine had been stopped four years earlier, out of concerns that it could produce harmful chemicals in the pipes. Long-term exposure to the byproducts from chlorine treatment has been linked with cancer. The paper quoted officials as saying that it was possible chloramine was more corrosive to lead pipes. (In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the Washington Aqueduct that supplies water to WASA, rejected a recommendation to add phosphates to the water to prevent lead leaching in the mid-1990s.) The change to chloramine was made after the EPA issued regulations concerning disinfection byproducts formed when chlorine reacts with organic matter in drinking water; the EPA considered these byproducts to be a potential health threat.
Lubaloy C41100
Health concerns surrounding brass stem from lead contamination. Lead is sometimes added to enhance the machinability of brass. It is often present in concentrations around 2%. Thirteen key manufacturers were sued by the California state attorney general on October 1999. Lab tests revealed the average brass key contained more than the acceptable limit of lead. They were required to reduce the lead content to 1.5% after April 2001. By January 1, 2010, the California law states that brass containing less than 0.25% lead must be used for each component that comes into contact with the wetted surface of pipes, plumbing fittings and fixtures. On the other hand, the copper in brass does create a natural germicidal or oligodynamic effect. Brass doorknobs will virtually disinfect themselves within eight hours.
Raritan Bay Slag Superfund Site
Ingestion of lead at the correct dosage can kill. Accumulation of lead in the body can damage the gastrointestinal and nervous system, kidneys, or red blood cells. Children, infants, and fetuses are more affected by lead than adults. Lead can cause learning difficulties, stunt physical and mental growth, or threaten fetal development. The amount of lead needed to cause these effects is unknown as the effects can occur due to incredibly small amounts.
Blood lead level
Adults who are exposed to a dangerous amount of lead can experience anemia, nervous system dysfunction, weakness, hypertension, kidney problems, decreased fertility, an increased level of miscarriages, premature deliveries, and low birth weight of their child.
Drinking water quality in the United States
Lead typically gets into drinking water after the water leaves the treatment plant. The source of lead is most likely pipe or solder in older service connections or older plumbing inside homes, from which lead "leaks" into the water through corrosion. EPA's lead and copper rule, last revised in 2007, defines an "action level" of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead, which is different from a Maximum Contaminant Level.
Solder
In the United States, lead is prohibited in solder and flux in plumbing applications for drinking water use, per the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Historically, a higher proportion of lead was used, commonly 50/50. This had the advantage of making the alloy solidify more slowly. With the pipes being physically fitted together before soldering, the solder could be wiped over the joint to ensure water tightness. Although lead water pipes were displaced by copper when the significance of lead poisoning began to be fully appreciated, lead solder was still used until the 1980s because it was thought that the amount of lead that could leach into water from the solder was negligible from a properly soldered joint. The electrochemical couple of copper and lead promotes corrosion of the lead and tin. Tin, however, is protected by insoluble oxide. Since even small amounts of lead have been found detrimental to health, lead in plumbing solder was replaced by silver (food-grade applications) or antimony, with copper often added, and the proportion of tin was increased (see Lead-free solder.)
Center for Environmental Health
In 1999, CEH filed suit against pharmaceutical companies and retailers, including Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Rite Aid Corp., Safeway, Walgreens and others for sales of baby powders that the group alleged contained harmful levels of lead. The suit noted that the baby powders contained zinc oxide, which can contain lead, and that babies can be exposed if they inhale the compounds, and/or can absorb them through irritated skin, and/or could ingest them if they get the powder on their hands or mouth. Ultimately, several manufacturers agreed to significant reductions in the lead in the products, up to 80% less for the products that had tested highest for lead. In a similar suit, CEH and the California Attorney General sued makers of Kaopectate for high lead content in its products; the company agreed to reduce the levels of lead in its children’s Kaopectate by 95%, and by 80% in its adult variety.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The report strongly criticized Brown for failing to check the original lab results. It also noted that one section of the 2004 CDC report said not one of the people living in a home with water lead levels 20 times higher than the action level had elevated blood lead, but it failed to mention that most of those people were drinking bottled or filtered water, not tap water, before their blood was tested—a fact Brown and her co-authors were well aware of. The investigation found that Brown gave her fellow authors just three hours to review her work before it was submitted for publication.
Blood lead level
The amount of lead found in the blood sample may be measured in micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (μg/dL) especially in the United States; 5 µg/dL is equivalent to 0.24 µmol/L (micromolar).
Lead poisoning
Lead from the atmosphere or soil can end up in groundwater and surface water. It is also potentially in drinking water, e.g. from plumbing and fixtures that are either made of lead or have lead solder. Since acidic water breaks down lead in plumbing more readily, chemicals can be added to municipal water to increase the pH and thus reduce the corrosivity of the public water supply. Chloramines, which were adopted as a substitute for chlorine disinfectants due to fewer health concerns, increase corrositivity. In the US, 14–20% of total lead exposure is attributed to drinking water. In 2004, a team of seven reporters from "The Washington Post" discovered high levels of lead in the drinking water in Washington, D.C. and won an award for investigative reporting for a series of articles about this contamination. In the Flint water crisis, a switch to a more corrosive municipal water source elevated lead levels in drinking water in domestic tap water.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
A year after the "Washington Post" published the results of the investigation, the CDC published a "Notice to Readers" in the May 21, 2010 issue of the "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" admitting that the 2004 report was misleading. It said the original report "did not reflect findings of concern from the separate longitudinal study that showed that children living in homes serviced by a lead water pipe were more than twice as likely as other DC children to have had a blood lead level ≥10 µg/dL." A further Notice to Readers published in June 2010 clarified that the results in the 2004 report "should not be used to make conclusions about the contribution of water lead to blood levels in DC, to predict what might occur in other situations where lead levels in drinking water are high, or to determine safe levels of lead in drinking water."
Blood lead level
The CDC now publishes a "reference" blood lead level which they hope can decrease in coming years. The reference value is "based on the 97.5th percentile of the BLL distribution among children 1–5 years old in the United States". It is currently 5 μg/dL. According to the CDC, in 2012, "approximately 450,000 children in the United States have BLLs higher than this reference value". There were more than 24 million US children under the age of 6 in 2014. If 2.5% are assumed to have blood lead levels higher than the reference amount, then there were approximately 600,000 US children with elevated blood lead levels in 2014. It is not a level deemed by the CDC as "safe". The reference level is designed to be used as a policy tool. Parents, clinicians, communities, state and federal authorities and political leaders are expected to monitor blood lead test levels, aware that children testing higher than the reference level are testing higher than 97.5% of all US children. The CDC expects action to be taken when test levels are found to exceed the reference. As blood lead levels slowly decline in response to such action, the reference will also decline. CDC will recalculate a new reference every four years.
District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
In 2001, water supplied by the Authority was found to contain lead levels of at least 1,250 parts per billion (ppb)—about 83 times higher than the accepted safe level of 15 ppb. The discovery was made by Marc Edwards, a civil engineering professor specializing in plumbing who DC Water had hired to investigate complaints of plumbing corrosion. DC Water threatened to cut off Edwards's funding unless he abandoned his investigation. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report dismissing the idea of health risks from the water.
2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "The toxicity of 2,4-D depends on its chemical forms, including salts, esters, and an acid form. 2,4-D generally has low toxicity for humans, except certain acid and salt forms can cause eye irritation. Swimming is restricted for 24 hours after application of certain 2,4-D products applied to control aquatic weeds to avoid eye irritation." the median lethal dose or LD determined in acute toxicity rat studies was 639 mg/kg.
Tar Creek Superfund site
Lead has marked adverse environmental impacts in aquatic systems. Water from the region eventually drains into the Grand Lake o' the Cherokees, which has raised lead levels in the lake. A health advisory warns people to limit the number of fish they consume from this area.
Estimates in 1982 showed lead and cadmium levels in the underground aquifer of Picher were five times the national standards for drinking water. Mine water has to be treated to prevent its contaminating other clean water sources, such as nearby Grand Lake, which already has elevated levels of lead due to mining activities. Photosynthetic organisms in the water have no means to dispose of heavy metals they absorb and accumulate these. Any animal or fish that feeds on this primary producer accumulates the higher concentrations of these contaminants, as the primary producer has a higher concentration of heavy metals relative to the water. Secondary and tertiary consumers accumulate even higher concentrations of such metals in a process called biomagnification). Since humans consume fish rather than phytoplankton, they are considered a secondary consumer, and are at high risk of lead poisoning from fish taken from contaminated lakes.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
That month, WASA said that recent tests showed encouraging declines in lead levels, which it attributed to the orthophosphate treatments started in August 2004. Out of 51 homes tested, only four had readings above 15 ppb; ten of those homes were above the 15-ppb standard the previous year, but fell below it in this test. WASA also noted that the Army Corps of Engineers would continue using chloramine throughout the year to keep the water chemistry stable. By May 10, 2005, the company was announcing that its tests were "below the '90th percentile lead action level.'"
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The EPA formally reduced its oversight of WASA in May 2006, after testing showed the lead levels had remained below 15 ppb for a full year. However, the agency continued to require WASA to submit 100 samples every six months for at least another year; the normal requirement is 50 samples a year.
2015 Hong Kong heavy metal in drinking water incidents
Lead is a toxicant that can cause serious and irreversible health damage. Children are especially vulnerable to its effects. Due the historic usage of lead water pipes, many jurisdictions have legal limits on safety levels of lead content in drinking water. Hong Kong standards limit the acceptable lead content of drinking water to 10 micrograms of lead per litre, the same standard as Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. For comparison, the United States allows 15 micrograms per litre while Mainland China allows 50 micrograms per litre.
Grape syrup
In ancient Rome, grape syrup was often boiled in lead pots, which sweetened the syrup through the leeching of the sweet-tasting chemical compound lead acetate into the syrup. Incidentally, this is thought to have caused lead poisoning for Romans consuming the syrup. A 2009 History Channel documentary produced a batch of historically accurate defrutum in lead-lined vessels and tested the liquid, finding a lead level of 29,000 parts per billion (ppb), which is 2,900 times higher than contemporary American drinking water limit of 10 ppb. These levels are easily high enough to cause either acute lead toxicity if consumed in large amounts or chronic lead poisoning when consumed in smaller quantities over a longer period of time (as defrutum was typically used).
Lead poisoning
In the 18th century lead poisoning was fairly frequent on account of the widespread drinking of rum, which was made in stills with a lead component (the "worm"). It was a significant cause of mortality amongst slaves and sailors in the colonial West Indies. Lead poisoning from rum was also noted in Boston. Benjamin Franklin suspected lead to be a risk in 1786. Also in the 18th century, "Devonshire colic" was the name given to the symptoms suffered by people of Devon who drank cider made in presses that were lined with lead. Lead was added to cheap wine illegally in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a sweetener. The composer Beethoven, a heavy wine drinker, suffered elevated lead levels (as later detected in his hair) possibly due to this; the cause of his death is controversial, but lead poisoning is a contender as a factor.
With the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, lead poisoning became common in the work setting. The introduction of lead paint for residential use in the 19th century increased childhood exposure to lead; for millennia before this, most lead exposure had been occupational. An important step in the understanding of childhood lead poisoning occurred when toxicity in children from lead paint was recognized in Australia in 1897. France, Belgium, and Austria banned white lead interior paints in 1909; the League of Nations followed suit in 1922. However, in the United States, laws banning lead house paint were not passed until 1971, and it was phased out and not fully banned until 1978.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In June 2004, the EPA cited WASA for a "serious breach" of the law, including withholding six test results showing high lead levels in 2001, dropping half of the homes that had previously tested high for lead levels in subsequent testing, and avoiding homes known to be at high risk for contamination. In July, a WASA-commissioned report supported the "Post"'s claims that the agency had known about the high lead levels for years, but had failed to notify regulators or the public.
In August 2004, the Army Corps of Engineers started adding orthophosphate to the water in hopes of preventing lead leeching. By November, WASA's board of directors had committed to a plan that would replace all of the agency's 23,000 lead pipes by 2010, at a cost of $300 million—starting with 2,800 lead pipes to be replaced in 2005. WASA estimated that the repairs would cost residents $6 to $7 a month. The agency was not legally responsible for the portion of the lead service lines within a homeowner's property lines; however, they offered to perform the work at a set rate, and arranged a low-interest loan program with Wachovia Bank to help homeowners afford the cost.
Environmental inequality in Europe
Tests for lead poisoning among 60 children were administered by Dr. Miljana Stojanovich, a doctor working for the Institute of Public Health in Mitrovica, who later stated "I haven't heard of results like this from anywhere else in the world...such high lead-levels in blood from such a small area." The tests determined that most children had blood lead levels higher than 65 micrograms per deciliter, the highest Dr. Stojanovich's instruments could measure. Test samples sent to a lab in Belgium were re-taken in order to verify if such levels were even possible; the results confirmed that children tested held the highest concentrations of blood lead in medical literature. 10 micrograms per deciliter is the threshold at which brain damage begins, including IQ loss, according to Dorit Nitzan, Director of WHO Serbia, who has stated that the camps constitute "one of the most serious public health disasters in modern Europe".In spite of concerns over lead exposure, the UNHCR decided to keep the camps open. Shortly after receiving the 2000 test results, the UN built a jogging track and basketball court between two of the settlements, naming the area the "Alley of Health". Signs in poorly translated English posted at the site by the UNHCR readALLEY OF HEALTH – LENGTH OF ALLEY – 1500 METERS – INHALE THE ODOUR OF HEALTH – THERE ARE CHALLENGES AWAITING FOR YOU – WIN – SPIRIT IS HEALTHY IN HEALTHY BODYIn the opinion of Ilija Elezovich from the Kosovo Health Authority during a 2005 interview, "the danger is so great that it threatens to destroy one full generation of Roma children ... they [UNHCR] made a catastrophic mistake by building these camps. Nobody cared about the danger of this location. This is very tragic for everybody, but especially for the Roma inhabitants."
Tar Creek Superfund site
Lead poisoning is especially hazardous to children under six years of age. High levels of lead at this age can produce impaired neurological development that results in lifelong problems. A 1996 study showed 43% of children ages 1–5 had blood lead concentrations above the threshold considered dangerous by federal standards though more recent reports show this number to be lower. Another indication of hazard is the 24% miscarriage rate for women in the area, compared to a national average of 10%.
Dimercaptosuccinic acid
Dimercaptosuccinic acid is indicated for the treatment of lead poisoning in children with blood level measured above 45 µg/dl. The use of DMSA is not approved for prevention of lead poisoning in anticipation of exposure in known lead-contaminated environments. Its elimination half-life is 2.5–3.5 hours. DMSA can cross the blood–brain barrier of mice, but not that of humans, limiting its use to extracting heavy metals from parts of the body other than the central nervous system.
Lead poisoning
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 water's chemistry to prevent corrosion of pipes. Lead testing kits are commercially available for detecting the presence of lead in the household. As hot water is more likely than cold water to contain higher amounts of lead, use only cold water from the tap for drinking, cooking, and for making baby formula. Since most of the lead in household water usually comes from plumbing in the house and not from the local water supply, using cold water can avoid lead exposure. Measures such as dust control and household education do not appear to be effective in changing children's blood levels.
Lead
By the mid-1980s, there was significant decline in the use of lead in industry. In the United States, environmental regulations reduced or eliminated the use of lead in non-battery products, including gasoline, paints, solders, and water systems. Particulate control devices were installed in coal-fired power plants to capture lead emissions. In 1992, U.S. Congress required the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce the blood lead levels of the country's children. Lead use was further curtailed by the European Union's 2003 Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive. A large drop in lead deposition occurred in the Netherlands after the 1993 national ban on use of lead shot for hunting and sport shooting: from 230 tonnes in 1990 to 47.5 tonnes in 1995.
Lead poisoning
Because game animals can be shot using lead bullets, the potential for lead ingestion from game meat consumption has been studied clinically and epidemiologically. In a recent study conducted by the CDC, a cohort from North Dakota was enrolled and asked to self-report historical consumption of game meat, and participation in other activities that could cause lead exposure. The study found that participants' age, sex, housing age, current hobbies with potential for lead exposure, and game consumption were all associated with blood lead level (PbB).
Copper toxicity
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) in drinking water is 1.3 milligrams per liter. The MCL for copper is based on the expectation that a lifetime of consuming copper in water at this level is without adverse effect (gastrointestinal). The US EPA lists copper as a micronutrient and a toxin. Toxicity in mammals includes a wide range of animals and effects such as liver cirrhosis, necrosis in kidneys and the brain, gastrointestinal distress, lesions, low blood pressure, and fetal mortality. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a limit of 0.1 mg/m for copper fumes (vapor generated from heating copper) and 1 mg/m for copper dusts (fine metallic copper particles) and mists (aerosol of soluble copper) in workroom air during an eight-hour work shift, 40-hour work week. Toxicity to other species of plants and animals is noted to varying levels.
Flint water crisis
Lead exposure across the U.S. has fallen dramatically since the 1980s, but no blood-lead level is considered completely safe. Children under age five, and especially infants and unborn children, bear the greatest risk of deleterious and irreversible health outcomes. From 2012 to 2016, the CDC set a "reference level" of 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL), in order to target for case management the 2.5% of young American children with the highest blood-lead levels. At 45 µg/dL, chelation therapy is considered. Among the many ways lead can enter a modern American's bloodstream is through lead plumbing. Acidic water makes it easier for the lead found in pipes, leaded solder, and brass faucets to dissolve and to enter a home's drinking water. Therefore, public water treatment systems are legally required to use control measures to make water less acidic. Plumbing that contains lead is often found in buildings constructed in the 1980s and earlier.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
A report commissioned by the D.C. Council released on December 8, 2004 faulted the federal government's regulation of the city's water supply as a factor in the lead contamination. The report noted that no one agency was responsible for the water quality: The Army Corps of Engineers treated the water, WASA delivered it, and the EPA performed the quality checks. It urged the Council to assume authority for the entire system. In the last six months of 2004, 90 percent of homes tested had lead levels of 59 ppb or lower.
Lead poisoning
A woman who has elevated blood lead levels during pregnancy is at greater risk of a premature birth or with a low birth weight. Children are more at risk for lead poisoning because their smaller bodies are in a continuous state of growth and development. Lead is absorbed at a faster rate compared to adults, which causes more physical harm than to older people. Furthermore, children, especially as they are learning to crawl and walk, are constantly on the floor and therefore more prone to ingesting and inhaling dust that is contaminated with lead.
Pittsburgh water crisis
Lead is a neurotoxin and of particular concern for children and pregnant women. In children, lead poisoning can contribute to developmental delays and learning disabilities as well as other varied symptoms including but not limited to irritability, weight loss, abdominal pain, and hearing loss. Newborns with lead poisoning are prone to premature death, lower birth weight, and delayed growth. If women get lead poisoning while pregnant, they are at a higher risk for miscarriage. With prolonged exposure, lead poisoning can lead to damage in the brain, kidneys, and nervous system in people of all ages, especially children. Although the federal lead threshold is 15 ppm, any concentration of lead in water is potentially dangerous to consumers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has a set reference level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) to identify children with elevated blood lead levels.
Environmental impact of aviation
Some 167,000 piston engine aircraft—about three-quarters of private planes in the United States—release lead (Pb) into the air due to leaded aviation fuel. From 1970 to 2007, general aviation aircraft emitted about 34,000 tons of lead into the atmosphere according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Lead is recognized as a serious environmental threat by the Federal Aviation Administration if inhaled or ingested leading to adverse effects on the nervous system, red blood cells and cardiovascular and immune systems with infants and young children especially sensitive to even low levels of lead, which may contribute to behavioral and learning problems, lower IQ and autism.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The report concludes that the high amounts of lead in the drinking water may have led to a slight rise of the blood levels; however, not to the levels of official concern. It also claims that the average levels were sinking. However, the report notes that there is no known "risk free" level, and therefore recommends that efforts should be made to eliminate lead in children's blood entirely.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The article quoted Erik Olson, an analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, as saying "This is a really big deal... If schools go over 20 parts per billion, they immediately take the water out of production." WASA recommended that residents let the tap run for 30 seconds to one minute before using it to reduce the risk.
Lead
Symptoms of lead poisoning include nephropathy, colic-like abdominal pains, and possibly weakness in the fingers, wrists, or ankles. Small blood pressure increases, particularly in middle-aged and older people, may be apparent and can cause anemia. Several studies, mostly cross-sectional, found an association between increased lead exposure and decreased heart rate variability. In pregnant women, high levels of exposure to lead may cause miscarriage. Chronic, high-level exposure has been shown to reduce fertility in males.
Endrin
In the United States, endrin has been regulated by the EPA. It set a freshwater acute criterion of 0.086 µg/L and a chronic criterion of 0.036 µg/L. In saltwater, the numbers are acute 0.037 and chronic 0.0023 µg/L.
The human health contaminate criterion for water plus organism is 0.059 µg/L.
The drinking water limit (maximum contaminant level) is set to 2 ppb.
Use of endrin in fisheries has been advised against due to the zero tolerance of endrin levels in food products.
For occupational exposures to endrin, OSHA and NIOSH have set exposure limits at 0.1 mg/m.
Lead poisoning in raptors
An individual who is experienced with wildlife can most times identify a symptomatic raptor that has lead poisoning. However, acute toxicity is not always as easily identified. The definitive way of determining if a bird has lead poisoning is by taking a blood sample and testing it for lead. The bird is considered normal and typically unaffected by lead if the blood is found to have less than 20μg/dL, though it is not impossible for a symptomatic bird to be under 20μg/dL. A raptor is considered to be experiencing subclinical amounts of lead in their system if its between 20-60 μg/dL. If an eagle has blood levels of lead above 60μg/dL then it is considered to be a clinical case and the chances of the eagle surviving at this point are very slim to none. The liver and bone can also be biopsied to test for lead toxicity though this can only occur after the eagle has already died. Birds can also be x-rayed, as any larger pieces of lead consumed will be visible on it.
Toxic heavy metal
The adverse effects of lead were known to the ancients. In the 2nd century BC the Greek botanist Nicander described the colic and paralysis seen in lead-poisoned people. Dioscorides, a Greek physician who is thought to have lived in the 1st century CE, wrote that lead "makes the mind give way". Lead was used extensively in Roman aqueducts from about 500 BC to 300 AD. Julius Caesar's 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." During the Mongol period in China (1271−1368 AD), lead pollution due to silver smelting in the Yunnan region exceeded contamination levels from modern mining activities by nearly four times. In the 17th and 18th centuries, people in Devon were afflicted by a condition referred to as Devon colic; this was discovered to be due to the imbibing of lead-contaminated cider. In 2013, the World Health Organization estimated that lead poisoning resulted in 143,000 deaths, and "contribute[d] to 600,000 new cases of children with intellectual disabilities", each year. In the U.S. city of Flint, Michigan, lead contamination in drinking water has been an issue since 2014. The source of the contamination has been attributed to "corrosion in the lead and iron pipes that distribute water to city residents". In 2015, drinking water lead levels in north-eastern Tasmania, Australia, were reported to reach over 50 times national drinking water guidelines. The source of the contamination was attributed to "a combination of dilapidated drinking water infrastructure, including lead jointed pipelines, end-of-life polyvinyl chloride pipes and household plumbing".
Infant and toddler safety
No safe levels of lead in the body of a child is considered safe and can cause problems for the rest of their life. Children living in low-income families are more likely to have levels of lead in their bodies. Questions regarding the testing procedures have been called into question. Children are at greater risk as they are more likely to put objects in their mouth such as those that contain lead paint and absorb a greater proportion of the lead that they eat. Treatment is available but prevention is better.
Lead poisoning
Lead can be found in products such as kohl, an ancient cosmetic from the Middle East, South Asia, and parts of Africa that has many names; and from some toys. In 2007, millions of toys made in China were recalled from multiple countries owing to safety hazards including lead paint. Vinyl mini-blinds, found especially in older housing, may contain lead.
Lead is commonly incorporated into herbal remedies such as Indian Ayurvedic preparations and remedies of Chinese origin. There are also risks of elevated blood lead levels caused by folk remedies like "azarcon" and "greta", which each contain about 95% lead.
Ingestion of metallic lead, such as small lead fishing lures, increases blood lead levels and can be fatal. Ingestion of lead-contaminated food is also a threat. Ceramic glaze often contains lead, and dishes that have been improperly fired can leach the metal into food, potentially causing severe poisoning. In some places, the solder in cans used for food contains lead. When manufacturing medical instruments and hardware, solder containing lead may be present. People who eat animals hunted with lead bullets may be at risk for lead exposure. Bullets lodged in the body rarely cause significant levels of lead, but bullets lodged in the joints are the exception, as they deteriorate and release lead into the body over time.
Lead and Copper Rule
EPA published a white paper in 2016 discussing options for additional revisions to the rule.The action level for lead is 0.015 mg/L. The action level for copper is 1.3 mg/L. Water suppliers must monitor locations as specified in the rule. If more than 10th percentile of tap water samples exceeds the action level, action must be taken. Actions may include investigation, recommendation of treatment, installation of treatment, checking of source water, removal of lead containing plumbing, and public education.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
As of January 2006, WASA said that about 29 percent of its customers had chosen to replace the lead service lines within the customer's property. In a January press release, WASA said that the average lead level in its most recent tests was 7 ppb. The authority also claimed that a voluntary blood-lead-level screening it funded showed no identifiable public health impact from the elevated lead levels.
Game (hunting)
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority considers that children, pregnant women, fertile-aged women, and people with high blood pressure should not consume game shot with lead-based ammunition more than once a month. Children who often eat such game might develop a slightly lower IQ, as lead influences the development of the central nervous system.
Blood lead level
A 2018 study in the "American Economic Journal: Applied Economics" found that for Rhode Island children born 1997–2005 (and therefore exposed to historically low levels of lead), "a one-unit decrease in average blood lead levels reduces the probability of being substantially below proficient in reading (math) by 0.96 (0.79) percentage points on a baseline of 12 (16) percent."
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In 2017, the DC Water Quality Report, Washington DC was found to be in compliance with the EPA's standards for lead within drinking water. However, there is no safe level of lead for children to consume. According to the EPA, lead at any level can be harmful. The  EPA has a maximum contamination goal of zero; however, they have not stated how or when they are going to enforce the regulation if it is amended.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
Meanwhile, on January 2, 2004, WASA called Edwards and threatened to cut off his access to monitoring data needed for his research, and divert funding from him to other researchers, unless he stopped working with the homeowners whose water showed high lead levels. Soon after, the EPA discontinued its own contract with Edwards.
Lead–acid battery
According to a 2003 report entitled "Getting the Lead Out", by Environmental Defense and the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor, Michigan, the batteries of vehicles on the road contained an estimated of lead. Some lead compounds are extremely toxic. Long-term exposure to even tiny amounts of these compounds can cause brain and kidney damage, hearing impairment, and learning problems in children. The auto industry uses over every year, with 90% going to conventional lead–acid vehicle batteries. While lead recycling is a well-established industry, more than ends up in landfills every year. According to the federal Toxic Release Inventory, another are released in the lead mining and manufacturing process.
2015 Hong Kong heavy metal in drinking water incidents
Lead contamination was discovered at numerous schools. SKH St. Thomas' Primary School in Sham Shui Po, the first case, where test results on potable water were 330% above WHO guidelines was disclosed by "Apple Daily" on 23 August. Another Kowloon school, St. Francis of Assisi's Caritas School (SFACS) in Shek Kip Mei, reported contamination above WHO standards in three out of five samples taken from its premises. One sample was found to contain 220 mg of lead per litre of water; two other samples, from the kitchen and canteen, were found to have 25 mg and 26 mg of lead per litre, respectively. This spurred the Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union to urge the government to test water in all of Hong Kong schools, and give financial assistance and issue guidelines to schools opting to have their own water supply tested. However, Secretary for Education Eddie Ng refused, saying that as many schools had since installed water filters for their drinking fountains and faucets, and that students themselves had started bringing their own drinking water supplies, the government would prioritise water standards at public housing estates.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In 2001, more than half the water samples taken from 53 DC-area homes under the procedures required by the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule showed levels of lead exceeding the national standard of 15 parts per billion (ppb). Lead disrupts the physical and mental development of fetuses, babies, and young children, and can cause kidney problems and high blood pressure in adults. The rule does not assume that there is a "safe" level of exposure, but notes that 15 ppb is an "action level" where utilities must take action. The rule was created in 1991, after research showed that drinking water could account for one-fifth of all lead intake. Lead is not normally present in drinking water; it is released from the inside surface of lead service lines (pipes that run from the main to the house), joints connected with lead-based solder, and lead fixtures inside the house. Based on these findings, WASA was required to notify the public and implement plans to replace lead service lines in key areas of the municipal water system.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In 2010, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UAS) claimed that the CDC Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning had been expected to lower the action level for lead in drinking water below 10 micrograms per deciliter in the summer of 2002. According to the UAS, Tommy Thompson, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, took the unprecedented step of rejecting a number of nominees to the committee selected by staff scientists. Instead, the group claims, Thompson appointed at least two appointees with financial ties to the lead industry. A 2010 "Washington Post" editorial cited the group's statement as a reason why the District's lead contamination "was practically inevitable" due to politicization of the CDC.
Health effects of chocolate
Although research suggests that even low levels of lead in the body may be harmful to children, it is unlikely that chocolate consumption in small amounts causes lead poisoning. Some studies have shown that lead may bind to cocoa shells and contamination may occur during the manufacturing process. One study showed the mean lead level in milk chocolate candy bars was 0.027 µg lead per gram of candy; another study found that some chocolate purchased at U.S. supermarkets contained up to 0.965  µg per gram, close to the international (voluntary) standard limit for lead in cocoa powder or beans, which is 1 µg of lead per gram. In 2006, the U.S. FDA lowered by one-fifth the amount of lead permissible in candy, but compliance is only voluntary. Studies concluded that "children, who are big consumers of chocolates, may be at risk of exceeding the daily limit of lead; whereas one 10 g cube of dark chocolate may contain as much as 20% of the daily lead oral limit. Moreover chocolate may not be the only source of lead in their nutrition" and "chocolate might be a significant source of Cd and Pb ingestion, particularly for children."
Lead poisoning
Contact with ammunition is a source of lead exposure. As of 2013, lead-based ammunition production is the second largest annual use of lead in the US, accounting for over 84,800 metric tons consumed in 2013. second only to the manufacture of storage batteries. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot regulate cartridges and shells, as a matter of law. Lead birdshot is banned in some areas, but this is primarily for the benefit of the birds and their predators, rather than humans. Contamination from heavily used gun ranges are of concern to those who live near by. Non-lead alternatives include steel, tungsten-nickel-iron, bismuth-tin, and tungsten-polymer.
Lead poisoning
Exposure to lead may also decrease lifespan and have health effects in the long term. Death rates from a variety of causes have been found to be higher in people with elevated blood lead levels; these include cancer, stroke, and heart disease, and general death rates from all causes. Lead is considered a possible human carcinogen based on evidence from animal studies. Evidence also suggests that age-related mental decline and psychiatric symptoms are correlated with lead exposure. Cumulative exposure over a prolonged period may have a more important effect on some aspects of health than recent exposure. Some health effects, such as high blood pressure, are only significant risks when lead exposure is prolonged (over about one year).
Herbert Needleman
In 1979, Needleman began the first large scale study of intelligence and behavior in children with no outward signs of lead poisoning. His research showed that lead exposure is associated with increased risk for failure to graduate from high school and for reading disabilities. His research involved testing the concentration of lead in bones of 194 juveniles, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, who had been convicted in the Allegheny County Juvenile Court, and 146 students in regular high schools in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who did not have behavioral problems. In 1996, findings from the research, reporting on the physical and behavioral problems caused by leaded gasoline and lead paint while linking lead exposure to anti-social behavior, were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study found delinquent children were four times more likely to have elevated concentrations of lead in their bones. According to Needleman, "Lead is a brain poison that interferes with the ability to restrain impulses. It's a life experience which gets into biology and increases a child's risk for doing bad things."
Tetraethyllead
Concerns over the toxicity of lead eventually led to the ban on TEL in automobile gasoline in many countries. Some neurologists have speculated that the lead phaseout may have caused average IQ levels to rise by several points in the US (by reducing cumulative brain damage throughout the population, especially in the young). For the entire US population, during and after the TEL phaseout, the mean blood lead level dropped from 16 μg/dL in 1976 to only 3 μg/dL in 1991. The US Centers for Disease Control considered blood lead levels "elevated" when they were above 10 μg/dL.
Animal lead poisoning
The critically endangered California condor has also been affected by lead poisoning. As scavengers, condors eat carcasses of game that have been shot but not retrieved, and with them the fragments from lead bullets; this increases their lead levels. Among condors around the Grand Canyon, lead poisoning due to eating lead shot is the most frequently diagnosed cause of death. In an effort to protect this species, in areas designated as the California condor's range the use of projectiles containing lead has been banned to hunt deer, wild pig, elk, pronghorn antelope, coyotes, ground squirrels, and other non-game wildlife. Also, conservation programs exist which routinely capture condors, check their blood lead levels, and treat cases of poisoning.
Cows and horses as well as pet animals are also susceptible to the effects of lead toxicity. Sources of lead exposure in pets can be the same as those that present health threats to humans sharing the environment, such as paint and blinds, and there is sometimes lead in toys made for pets. Lead poisoning in a pet dog may indicate that children in the same household are at increased risk for elevated lead levels.
Center for Environmental Health
In 2009, CEH filed a lawsuit after tests showed high lead levels in purses sold by 16 retailers. By 2010, the group had tested purses from 100 top retailers, finding many with high lead levels. In June of that year, CEH reached a legal settlement with more than 40 companies who agreed to stop selling items containing lead in excess of safety levels. But "ABC World News" reported in 2012 that even after signing legal agreements to meet the lead limits, some companies continued to sell lead-containing purses. Their report says that CEH testing found 43 of the 300 purses tested with lead. In 2013, the "New York Times" reported that the group found a steady reduction in lead contamination from accessories over all, but continued to find lead contamination in some fashion accessories sold to budget-conscious teenagers and young women at some retailers.
2015 Hong Kong heavy metal in drinking water incidents
Portable water that is used in Hong Kong indicated high levels of heavy metal when it was tested. The heavy metals include lead and nickel. The discovery was made in 2015 when the Democratic Party undertook the responsibility of testing the water that was used at Kai Ching Estate. Hong Kong Housing Authority also discovered the presence of heavy metal in the water that was used was higher in comparison to the World Health Organization standards. Since lead water pipes have been used in the past there are certain acceptable limits of lead occurrence in drinking water where Hong Kong standard limit is at 10 micrograms of lead per litre. Helena Wong who is a member of the Democratic Party led to the exposure of the presence of high levels beyond the set standard of lead occurrence in domestic used water in an estate in Kowloon City. The source that resulted to high level of lead in the water was the illegal welding at the joints of the water pipes. After the discovery was made the government tried to shift the blame to the contractor but the contractor rejected the blame. The contractor claimed that his organisation was responsible for the installation of outside pipes thus didn't undertake the mandate to install the pipes inside the building.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In 2010, the CDC reported that 15,000 homes in the Washington, D.C. area might still have water supplies with dangerous levels of lead.
Chocolate
Chocolate and cocoa contain moderate to high amounts of oxalate, which may increase someone's risk for kidney stones. During cultivation and production, chocolate may absorb the heavy metal lead from the environment, but the total amounts typically eaten are less than the tolerable daily limit for lead consumption, according to a World Health Organization report from 2010. However, reports from 2014 indicate that "chocolate might be a significant source" of lead ingestion for children if consumption is high, and "one 10 g cube of dark chocolate may contain as much as 20% of the daily lead oral limit."
Lead poisoning
Lead affects both the male and female reproductive systems. In men, when blood lead levels exceed 40 μg/dL, sperm count is reduced and changes occur in volume of sperm, their motility, and their morphology.
A pregnant woman's elevated blood lead level can lead to miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weight, and problems with development during childhood. Lead is able to pass through the placenta and into breast milk, and blood lead levels in mothers and infants are usually similar. A fetus may be poisoned "in utero" if lead from the mother's bones is subsequently mobilized by the changes in metabolism due to pregnancy; increased calcium intake in pregnancy may help mitigate this phenomenon.
Blood lead level
A major source of exposure to lead comes from inhalation. Factories and industries, vehicle exhaust (especially from vehicles using leaded gasoline), and even dust in the air that people breathe all have the potential of containing lead. Other major sources of lead exposure include ingestion and contact with products such as paint and soil that may contain lead. Many older claw-foot bathtubs have also been found to leach lead, especially when filled with warm bath water.
Blood lead level
A child can drink a glass of water containing lead and absorb 50% of it. An adult might only retain 10% of the lead in that water. And once the lead is in the child's body, it reaches the brain through the not fully developed blood brain barrier. The body removes lead from blood and stores it in bone, but in children it subsequently leaves the bone more readily compared to adults. "Lead that has accumulated in a woman's bones is removed from her bones and passes freely from mother to child; maternal and fetal blood lead levels are virtually identical. Once in the fetal circulation, lead readily enters the developing brain through the immature blood–brain barrier".
Sodium calcium edetate
Sodium calcium edetate (sodium calcium EDTA), also known as edetate calcium disodium among other names, is a medication primarily used to treat lead poisoning. This includes short term and long term lead poisoning. For lead encephalopathy it is typically used together with dimercaprol. It does not appear to be useful for tetraethyllead toxicity. It is given by slow injection into a vein or into a muscle.
Common side effects include pain at the site of injection. Other side effects may include kidney problems, diarrhea, fever, muscle pains, and low blood pressure. Benefits when needed in pregnancy are likely greater than the risks. Sodium calcium edetate is in the chelating agent family of medication. It is a salt of edetate with two sodium and one calcium atoms. It works by binding a number of heavy metals which allows them to leave the body in the urine.
Sodium calcium edetate came into medical use in the United States in 1953. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most effective and safe medicines needed in a health system. In the United States a course of treatment costs 50 to 100 USD as of 2015. Edetate disodium is a different formulation which does not have the same effects.
Boric acid
Based on mammalian median lethal dose (LD) rating of 2,660 mg/kg body mass, boric acid is only poisonous if taken internally or inhaled in large quantities. The Fourteenth Edition of the "Merck Index" indicates that the LD of boric acid is 5.14 g/kg for oral dosages given to rats, and that 5 to 20 g/kg has produced death in adult humans. For comparison's sake, the LD of salt is reported to be 3.75 g/kg in rats according to the "Merck Index". According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, "The minimal lethal dose of ingested boron (as boric acid) was reported to be 2–3 g in infants, 5–6 g in children, and 15–20 g in adults. [...] However, a review of 784 human poisonings with boric acid (10–88 g) reported no fatalities, with 88% of cases being asymptomatic."
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
In January 2006, the Government Accountability Office released a study criticizing the EPA's efforts monitoring lead levels in drinking water across the United States.Although the study found that lead in drinking water had generally declined since the 1990s, it noted that data collection problems "may be undermining the intended level of public health protection".It should be noted that there have been studies that show that there is no safe level for lead consumption.
Lead and Copper Rule
The 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments defined "lead-free" plumbing and prohibited the use of plumbing for public water supply that did not meet the new definition. The amendments also required EPA to set standards limiting the concentration of lead in public water systems.
Blood lead level
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) changed its view on blood lead levels in 2012 because of "a growing body of studies concluding that blood lead levels (BLLs) lower than 10 μg/dL harm children" with "irreversible" effects, and "since no safe blood lead level in children has been identified, a blood lead 'level of concern' cannot be used to define individuals in need of intervention". The new policy is to aim to reduce average blood lead levels in US children to as low a level as possible.
Lead poisoning
Lead poisoning was among the first known and most widely studied work and 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 metal's 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 Caesar's 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. It is even hypothesized that lead poisoning may have contributed to the decline of the Roman Empire, a hypothesis thoroughly disputed:
Blood lead level
Blood lead levels are highest in countries where lead is added to petrol or gasoline, where lead is used in paint soldered products, in urban areas, in areas adjacent to high road traffic, and in developing countries. In Jamaica, 44% of children living near lead production facilities had BLLs above 25 µg/dL. In Albania, 98% of preschool children and 82% of schoolchildren had BLLs above 10 µg/dL; preschoolers living near a battery factory had average BLLs of 43 µg/dL. In China, 50% of children living in rural areas had BLLs above 10 µg/dL, and children living near sites of industry and high traffic had average BLLs ranging from 22 to 68 µg/dL.
Pipe (fluid conveyance)
Lead piping is still found in old domestic and other water distribution systems, but it is no longer permitted for new potable water piping installations due to its toxicity. Many building codes now require that lead piping in residential or institutional installations be replaced with non-toxic piping or that the tubes' interiors be treated with phosphoric acid. According to a senior researcher and lead expert with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, "...there is no safe level of lead [for human exposure]". In 1991 the US EPA issued the Lead and Copper Rule, it is a federal regulation which limits the concentration of lead and copper allowed in public drinking water, as well as the permissible amount of pipe corrosion occurring due to the water itself. In the US it's estimated that 6.5 million lead pipes installed before the 1930s are still in use.
Kohl (cosmetics)
Eye cosmetics such as surma are recognized as one of the important sources of lead exposure in Pakistan. As adverse health effects of heavy metals are a public health concern, where especially lead may cause negative health impacts to human fetal and infantile development, a study in Pakistan of pregnant women' nails in 2016, showed thirteen nail samples out of 84 nails analyzed, contained lead higher than the concentration (13.6 μg/g) of the fatal lead poisoning case, with the possibility of an external contamination. The observations showed that lead-containing surma consists of fine particle of galena (ore of lead sulfide) in respirable dust range (less than 10 μm) and relative in vitro bioavailability of lead in the surma was determined as 5.2%. Thus, lead-containing surma consists of inhalable and bioavailable particles, and it contributes an increased risk of lead exposure.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
On January 21, 2005, the EPA ordered WASA to notify more than 400 homeowners that the agency had mistakenly told them their house's water lead levels were safe, and to replace an additional 500 service lines to comply with federal law. The EPA said that WASA had flushed the water line for five minutes before running the lead tests for those homes, resulting in artificially low readings; such a lengthy flush is not permitted by EPA standards. The EPA did not believe that the flushes were done intentionally by WASA to reduce lead levels. The testing had been done as part of an effort to avoid the expense of replacing lead lines in areas where it found low lead levels.
Marc Edwards (civil engineering professor)
In a 2008 radio interview, Edwards noted that the United States has over five million lead water pipes, many of which are nearing the end of their useful life. "In some cases, you can take a single glass of water," he said, "and if you're unlucky, and it has that piece of lead in it, you can get a very high dose of lead, similar to that which you could obtain by eating lead paint chips."
Lead poisoning
Lead is a common environmental pollutant. Causes of environmental contamination include industrial use of lead, such as is found in facilities that process lead-acid batteries or produce lead wire or pipes, and metal recycling and foundries. Storage batteries and ammunition are made with the largest amounts of lead consumed in the economy each year, in the US as of 2013. Children living near facilities that process lead, such as lead smelters, have been found to have unusually high blood lead levels. In August 2009, parents rioted in China after lead poisoning was found in nearly 2000 children living near zinc and manganese smelters. Lead exposure can occur from contact with lead in air, household dust, soil, water, and commercial products. Leaded gasoline has also been linked to increases in lead pollution. Some research has suggested a link between leaded gasoline and crime rates. Man made lead pollution has been elevated in the air for the past 2000 years. Lead pollution in the air is entirely due to human activity (mining and smelting).
Lead(II,IV) oxide
Red lead is virtually insoluble in water and in ethanol. However, it is soluble in hydrochloric acid present in the stomach, and is therefore toxic when ingested. It also dissolves in glacial acetic acid and a diluted mixture of nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide.
Blood lead level
Blood lead level (BLL), is a measure of the amount of lead in the blood. Lead is a toxic heavy metal and can cause neurological damage, especially among children, at any detectable level. High lead levels cause decreased vitamin D and haemoglobin synthesis as well as anemia, acute central nervous system disorders, and possibly death.
Environmental policy of the Donald Trump administration
According to the EPA, lead poisoning is the number one environmental health threat for children ages 6 and younger. No new standards have been set since 2001, though it is agreed that the old standards need to be updated. In December 2017, after Pruitt requested six more years to regulate lead levels, a divided federal appeals court issued a writ of mandamus ordering Pruitt to regulate lead within the next 90 days. The Court called the lead paint risks for children "severe".
Jennifer Rice
Rice introduced a private member's bill in April 2016, "Drinking Water Protection (Safe Water for Schools) Amendment Act" (Bill M-215), which would require the regular testing of drinking water in schools. The bill was in response to elevated lead levels found in Prince Rupert and Kitimat schools, and had the support of the British Columbia Teachers' Federation. The bill did not advance beyond the first reading, but the government still adopted a system of reminders for school districts to test for lead on an annual basis and report back to the Ministry of Education. Independent MLA Vicki Huntington and political columnist Vaughn Palmer praised Rice for her work on drinking water safety.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
After Seema Bhat, a water quality manager at WASA, told her superiors at the agency and at the EPA about the lead levels and warned that federal guidelines required aggressive action, she was fired by the agency. A federal investigator found that she had been improperly terminated.
Lead and Copper Rule
The U.S. Public Health Service published a non-enforceable standard for lead in 1925, consisting of a tolerance limit of 0.1 mg/L.
Lead glass
The California Department of Public Health lead advisory states, "children should never eat or drink out of leaded crystalware". Leaded crystal wineglasses and decanters are generally not considered to pose a significant health risk, provided that these items are washed thoroughly before use, that beverages are not stored in these containers for more than a few hours, and provided that they are not used by children.
Divisoria
One similar case involved Pokémon toys being sold for as cheap as P5 per unit, which were revealed to contain concentrations of lead as well as to pose a choking or swallowing hazard to young children due to the small size of the toys. In a screening process organized by the EcoWaste Coalition, 38 out of 225 samples contained a concentration of lead that is prohibited according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The first media attention came in late 2002, when the "Washington City Paper" ran an article about a resident of American University Park whose water tested six to 18 times the EPA Lead and Copper Rule's action level. WASA found that homes in its service area with lead service lines averaged five times the EPA limit for lead during a year-long period. The results were unexpected; the EPA scientist overseeing DC's water suggested that drought conditions might have raised the alkalinity levels of the Potomac River, leading to a change in the pH of the water. As a result, WASA was required to start replacing seven percent of the district's lead service lines each year until the levels dropped below 0.015 milligrams per liter. At the time, about 23,000 WASA customers had lead service lines.
Flint water crisis
Childhood lead exposure causes a reduction in intellectual functioning and IQ, academic performance, and problem-solving skills, and an increased risk of attention deficit disorder, aggression, and hyperactivity. According to studies, children with elevated levels of lead in the blood are more likely as adults to commit crimes, be imprisoned, be unemployed or underemployed, or be dependent on government services. In addition, early-life exposure to lead may increase risk of later-life neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and this risk is likely to persist into late life long after lead has been removed from the body. A 2014 study by researchers at Risk Science Center at the University of Michigan, completed before the Flint water crisis came to light, estimated the annual cost of childhood lead exposure in Michigan at $330 million ($205 million in decreases in lifetime earnings, $105 million in additional criminal justice system expenditures, $18 million in health expenditures to diagnose lead positioning and lead-linked attention deficit disorder), and $2.5 million in additional special education expenditures.
Lead smelting
Humans have been smelting lead for thousands of years, poisoning themselves in the process. Although lead poisoning is one of the oldest known work and environmental hazards, the modern understanding of the small amount of lead necessary to cause harm did not come about until the latter half of the 20th century. No safe threshold for lead exposure has been discovered—that is, there is no known amount of lead that is too small to cause the body harm.
Red Vines
In August 2012 the California Department of Public Health announced a recall of one lot of Red Vines' black licorice candy due to lead contamination. Only the one-pound packages marked "Best Before 020413" were recalled. Testing found that candy in the contaminated lot had as much as 0.33 parts per million of lead resulting in up to 13.2 micrograms of lead per serving. This was more than double the limit of 6.0 micrograms of lead per day from all dietary sources for children under 6 years old.
Lead poisoning
The current reference range for acceptable blood lead concentrations in healthy persons without excessive exposure to environmental sources of lead is less than 5 µg/dL for children. It was less than 25 µg/dL for adults. Previous to 2012 the value for children was 10 (µg/dl). The current biological exposure index (a level that should not be exceeded) for lead-exposed workers in the U.S. is 30 µg/dL in a random blood specimen.
Lipstick
While only trace amounts of lead are ingested from lipstick, lead accumulates in the body, which can lead to lead poisoning. The most common users of lipstick are teens and adult women. A study done by the University of California – Berkley found that women applied lipstick anywhere from two to fourteen times a day. This translates to up to 87 milligrams of product ingestion per day. Lead ingestion is particularly concerning for pregnant women because lead can enter the fetus from the mother.
Lead poisoning
Exposure occurs through inhalation, ingestion or occasionally skin contact. Lead may be taken in through direct contact with mouth, nose, and eyes (mucous membranes), and through breaks in the skin. Tetraethyllead, which was a gasoline additive and is still used in fuels such as aviation fuel, passes through the skin; however inorganic lead found in paint, food, and most lead-containing consumer products is only minimally absorbed through the skin. The main sources of absorption of inorganic lead are from ingestion and inhalation. In adults, about 35–40% of inhaled lead dust is deposited in the lungs, and about 95% of that goes into the bloodstream. Of ingested inorganic lead, about 15% is absorbed, but this percentage is higher in children, pregnant women, and people with deficiencies of calcium, zinc, or iron. Infants may absorb about 50% of ingested lead, but little is known about absorption rates in children.
The main body compartments that store lead are the blood, soft tissues, and bone; the half-life of lead in these tissues is measured in weeks for blood, months for soft tissues, and years for bone. Lead in the bones, teeth, hair, and nails is bound tightly and not available to other tissues, and is generally thought not to be harmful. In adults, 94% of absorbed lead is deposited in the bones and teeth, but children only store 70% in this manner, a fact which may partially account for the more serious health effects on children. The estimated half-life of lead in bone is 20 to 30 years, and bone can introduce lead into the bloodstream long after the initial exposure is gone. The half-life of lead in the blood in men is about 40 days, but it may be longer in children and pregnant women, whose bones are undergoing remodeling, which allows the lead to be continuously re-introduced into the bloodstream. Also, if lead exposure takes place over years, clearance is much slower, partly due to the re-release of lead from bone. Many other tissues store lead, but those with the highest concentrations (other than blood, bone, and teeth) are the brain, spleen, kidneys, liver, and lungs.
Lead is removed from the body very slowly, mainly through urine. Smaller amounts of lead are also eliminated through the feces, and very small amounts in hair, nails, and sweat.
Lead has no known physiologically relevant role in the body, and its harmful effects are myriad. Lead and other heavy metals create reactive radicals which damage cell structures including DNA and cell membranes. Lead also interferes with DNA transcription, enzymes that help in the synthesis of vitamin D, and enzymes that maintain the integrity of the cell membrane. Anemia may result when the cell membranes of red blood cells become more fragile as the result of damage to their membranes. Lead interferes with metabolism of bones and teeth and alters the permeability of blood vessels and collagen synthesis. Lead may also be harmful to the developing immune system, causing production of excessive inflammatory proteins; this mechanism may mean that lead exposure is a risk factor for asthma in children. Lead exposure has also been associated with a decrease in activity of immune cells such as polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Lead also interferes with the normal metabolism of calcium in cells and causes it to build up within them.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
The lead levels required WASA to conduct a wider survey of their water quality. By the fall of 2003, it had tested more than 6,000 homes in the District, finding that two-thirds tested had more than 15 ppb of lead in their water. The survey showed that over 4,000 homes served by WASA had lead levels exceeding the acceptable level. More than a third of the homes surveyed—2,287 out of 6,118—had levels exceeding 50 ppb. The water tested over 300 ppb in 157 homes. Despite this result, WASA did not notify its customers of the risk until November 2003.
Chapulines
In 2007, several American media reported concerns over lead contamination in products imported from Zimatlán, a municipality in Oaxaca, including chapulines. In California, an investigation among community residents in Monterey County showed a larger risk for lead poisoning on people who either were from or reported eating food imported from Zimatlán.
Contaminated chapulines which were found for sale in California were also identified in samples from Zimatlán. Lead levels found in the chapulines were as high as 300 times the maximum recommended lead dose for children under the age of 6 and pregnant women. It was discovered the lead was from bowls used in the seasoning process. The lead problem was widely known and is no longer an issue. Today, chapulines from Oaxaca are safe to eat.
Lead contamination in Washington, D.C. drinking water
On March 30, 2004, an "MMWR dispatch", "Blood Lead Levels in Residents of Homes with Elevated Lead in Tap Water --- District of Columbia, 2004", was made available on the MMWR web site. It was then published by CDC as "MMWR Weekly, April 2, 2004 / 53(12);268-270". The report ""summarizes the results of the preliminary investigations, which indicated that the elevated water lead levels might have contributed to a small increase in blood lead levels (BLLs)"". The report describes the background, and the various kinds of blood tests it employed, and explicitly states: ""All blood tests were used in this analysis."" There is no mention at all of any test results not being available, not even in the "caveat" section, where other potential sources of error are discussed.
Lead poisoning
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization state that a blood lead level of 10 μg/dL or above is a cause for concern; however, lead may impair development and have harmful health effects even at lower levels, and there is no known safe exposure level. Authorities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics define lead poisoning as blood lead levels higher than 10 μg/dL.
Lead forms a variety of compounds and exists in the environment in various forms. Features of poisoning differ depending on whether the agent is an organic compound (one that contains carbon), or an inorganic one. Organic lead poisoning is now very rare, because countries across the world have phased out the use of organic lead compounds as gasoline additives, but such compounds are still used in industrial settings. Organic lead compounds, which cross the skin and respiratory tract easily, affect the central nervous system predominantly.
Diving weighting system
Although lead is the least expensive dense (SG=11.34) material available, it is a toxic substance causing biological damage to wildlife and humans. The Centers for Disease Control has stated that no safe level of lead exposure in children has been determined, and that once lead has been absorbed into the body, its effects cannot be corrected. Even a very small amount of exposure causes a permanent reduction in intelligence, ability to focus attention, and academic ability. Lead can be inhaled or ingested as either a metal powder or powdered corrosion products, however most lead salts have very low solubility in water, and pure lead corrodes very slowly in seawater. Absorption through skin is not likely for metallic lead and inorganic corrosion products.