Also called: Also called: Plumbism
Lead is a metal that occurs naturally in the earth's crust. People have spread it through the environment in many ways. Lead used to be in paint and gasoline. Lead can still be found in contaminated soil, household dust, drinking water, lead-glazed pottery and some metal jewelry.
Breathing air, drinking water, eating food or swallowing or touching dirt that contains lead can cause many health problems. In adults, lead can increase blood pressure and cause infertility, nerve disorders and muscle and joint pain. It can also make you irritable and affect your ability to concentrate and remember.
Lead is especially dangerous for children. A child who swallows large amounts of lead may develop anemia, severe stomachache, muscle weakness and brain damage. Even low levels of lead are linked to lower IQ scores.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals: Lead(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_lead.pdf
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Lead(Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html
Also available in Spanish http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/es/toxfaqs/es_tfacts13.html
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Lead and Your Health
(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - Links to PDF - http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/lead/docs/lead.pdf
- Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances) - http://www.epa.gov/lead/
- Lead Poisoning(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/lead-poisoning/FL00068/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
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Tox Town(National Library of Medicine) - Requires Flash Player - http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/espanol/
- Calcium in Pregnancy Shields Fetus from Lead Risks(09/18/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69422.html
- FDA Broadens Access to Lead Screening Test(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/606_lead.html
- Lead Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/lead/test.html
- Humans and Lead Fishing Sinkers(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water) - http://www.epa.gov/owowwtr1/fish/humans.html
- Is There Lead in My Drinking Water?(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water) - http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead/leadfactsheet.html
- Kohl, Kajal, Al-Kahl, or Surma: By Any Name, Beware of Lead Poisoning(Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition) - http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-kohl.html
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Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances) - Links to PDF - http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/rrpamph.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/span_web_secure.pdf
- Testing Your Home for Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil(Environmental Protection Agency) - Large PDF file - http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/leadtest.pdf
- Introduction to Indoor Air Quality: Lead (Pb)(Environmental Protection Agency, Indoor Environments Division) - http://www.epa.gov/iaq/lead.html
- Lead (in the Workplace)(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) - http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/lead/
- Lead and Drinking Water from Private Wells(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/healthywater/factsheets/lead.htm
- Lead Recalls(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/Recalls/
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Lead Poisoning in Children
(Healthy Roads Media) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/english/Files/flv/englead.htm
- Lead Webcast for the Community(Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) - http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/lead/community/index.html
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Lead Poisoning(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Lead+Poisoning%22
- Lead Exposure Has Lasting Effect on Kids' Language Skills(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/research/lead_language.html
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Biomonitoring of lead exposure-alternatives to blood. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18654894&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: The lead industry and lead water pipes "A Modest Campaign". - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18633098&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Reduction of elevated blood lead levels in children in North... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18629325&tool=MedlinePlus
- Lead Poisoning -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=lead+poisoning[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Understanding Lead Terminology(National Safety Council) - http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/articles/lead_glossary.aspx
- Lead-Related Information: Federal, State and Local Government Contacts(National Safety Council) - http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/gov_contacts.aspx
- Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Program(Environmental Protection Agency) - http://www.epa.gov/tri/
- Environmental Protection Agency - http://www.epa.gov/
- National Center for Environmental Health(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/
- National Center for Healthy Housing - http://www.centerforhealthyhousing.org/
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National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - http://www.niehs.nih.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.niehs.nih.gov/about/community/espanol/
- Real Estate Lead Disclosure Requirements(National Safety Council) - http://www.nsc.org/resources/issues/articles/lead_disclosure.aspx
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TOXMAP(National Library of Medicine) - Create maps showing locations of toxic chemical releases - http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/main/index.jsp
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Adventures of the Lead Busters Club(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/leadbusters/home.htm
Also available in Spanish http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/leadhisp/home.htm
- Childhood Lead Exposure(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/Features/ChildhoodLead/
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Lead Poisoning in Children
(Healthy Roads Media) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/english/Files/flv/englead.htm
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Lead Poisoning Kids' Page(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences) - http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lead.htm
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Ten Tips to Protect Children from Pesticide and Lead Poisonings(Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pesticide Programs) - http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/child-ten-tips.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.epa.gov/opp00001//factsheets/child-ten-tips-esp.htm
- Children and Teenagers - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childrenandteenagers.html
- Poisoning, Toxicology, Environmental Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/poisoningtoxicologyenvironmentalhealth.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Lead Poisoning is the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - http://www.niehs.nih.gov/
Lead Poisoning - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/leadpoisoning.html