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How does Lead Enter the Human Body? What are the Effects of Lead Poisoning? Enter your search terms Submit search form   Search This Website - InspectAPedia.com

• How lead gets into the human body
• What are the effects of lead on children or adults?
• What are the symptoms of lead poisoning & extremen lead poisoning?
• US CPSC Document #426 "How to Protect Your Family from Lead in the Home" with additional information and annotations

By offering simple steps to protect your family from lead poisoning, this document provides advice for reducing the risk of lead poisoning for families living in homes where lead exposure is suspected, likely, or where lead contamination is actually confirmed by testing.

The original U.S. CPSC document is public domain. We have made additions to the technical depth of this article and we have added additional important detail about lead hazards - these are indicated by a [bracketed note in italics]. The additional text or commentary, website design, links, and references are © Copyright 2008 Daniel Friedman, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

How does Lead Get Into the Human Body?

1 out of every 11 children in the United States has dangerous levels of lead in the bloodstream.

Even children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead.

People can get lead in their body if they:

• Put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths.
• Eat paint chips or soil that contain lead.
• Breathe in lead dust (especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces).
• Lead is even more dangerous to children than adults because:
• Babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths. These objects can have lead dust on them.
• Children's growing bodies absorb more lead.
• Children's brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.

What are the Effects of Lead Poisoning on the Human Body?

If not detected early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:

• Damage to the brain and nervous system
• Behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity)
• Slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Headaches

Lead is also harmful to adults. Adults can suffer from:

• Difficulties during pregnancy
• Other reproductive problems (in both men and women)
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems
• Nerve disorders
• Memory and concentration problems
• Muscle and joint pain

[The Following Addendum by DJ Friedman inserted 2/6/2006]

What are the Symptoms of Extreme Lead Poisoning?

The NY Times article (cited below) reports on the U.N. placement of a large number of Roma refugees in camps in the north part of Kosovo and located within 200 yards of large mounds of industrial waste containing lead smelting byproducts. 100,000 to 130,000 people are believed affected by lead poisoning in this area.

Increased vulnerability to lead poisoning occurs where overall health conditions are poor, such as in these camps. Tests found that all of the children had high levels of lead and other metals: antimony, arsenic, cadmium, and manganese. The article reports that a test specialist asserted that this population showed the highest levels of lead ever measured in human hair samples [Dietrich-Runow in email to the Times].

In what appear [to DF and suggested by the article] to be extreme cases of lead poisoning, the Times reported the following symptoms and complaints, focused on symptoms appearing in children, though adults were also severely affected:

• Death: up to 31 Roma have been killed by diseases brought on by lead poisoning over a six 1/2 year exposure.
• High fever
• Blue color in arms and legs
• Yellowing of the skin
• Unconsciousness
• "Feebleness" [weakness]
• Dizziness
• Sleepiness
• Stunted growth
• Brain damage
• Nerve damage
• Immune system suppression
• Anemia
• Renal Failure
• Speech disorders
• Language problems
• Behavioral problems [including aggressiveness--DF]

Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS GUIDE
LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE
  Lead levels in blood
  How lead enters the body
  Sources of Lead
  Lead Based Paint
  Lead Paint Surveys
  Lead Plumbing Lead in Water
  Lead Toys, Jewelry
  Report on the National Survey of Lead-Based Paint
  Lead in Air - U.S. Lead Emissions Standards
LEAD CONTAMINATION HAZARDS in the HOME
  Protect Your Family from Lead
  Lead in Homes Before 1978
  Lead Hazard Warnings
  Lead in the Body
  Lead's Effects on People
  Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms, Effects
  Testing Your Family for Lead
  Lead-Based Paint Uses in Buildings
  Lead paint hazard spots in buildings
  Checking Your Home for Lead
  What You Can Do about Lead in the Home
  Remodeling & Lead Hazards
  Other Lead Sources
  Help Numbers for Lead Poisoning
  Government Contacts for Lead Info
LEAD CONTAMINATION in WATER, HOW to TEST
  Lead Contamination from Water Lines
  Lead in Water, Health Risks
  Lead Contamination Limits in Drinking Water
  Lead Test Results Affected by Test Methods
LEAD HAZARDS & FEAR: Enviro-Scare
LEAD IN DRINKING WATER, HOW to REDUCE
  Lead in Drinking Water
  Health Effects of Lead
  Lead in Drinking Water
  Steps You Can Take
  Tests for Lead Contamination in Water
LEAD WATER PIPING HAZARDS & REMEDIES
  Allowable Lead Levels in Water
  Lead Level vs. Test Methods

Technical Reviewers & References

Particular thanks are due to experts and also consumers who read these articles and suggest corrections, changes, and additions to the material. Content suggestions, technical corrections and content critique are invited for any of the content at our website.

• Daniel Friedman - principal author/editor of the InspectAPedia ^TM Website
• US CPSC Document #426 "How to Protect Your Family from Lead in the Home" with additional information and annotations
• "Displaced Gypsies at Risk from Lead in Kosovo Camps," Nicholas Wood, New York Times, 5 February 2006 p5.
• Critique, contributions wanted: Contact Us to suggest text changes and additions and, if you wish, to receive online listing and credit for that contribution.

Use links at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website.

More expert information on this topic

More Information on Building Diagnostic Inspections and Repairs

Lead Contamination and Hazards

• Lead in Drinking Water: Advice
• Tests for Lead Contamination in Water
• Lead in Drinking Water - Testing Problems/Advice
• Lead Hazards: Advice, evaluation, mitigation, services - lead paint, lead in plumbing, lead in water, air, dust
• How to Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home U.S. CPSC publication with additional links and resource references
• Lead Hazards in Buildings, Dust, Paint, Water: General Advice, Testing Procedures, Illnesses with additional links and resource references for Lead Hazards
• Lead in Drinking Water : Advice
• Lead Testing & Correcting Contamination from Lead Water Supply Lines/Entry Mains - Lead Pipe Problems/Advice
• "Dally No Longer, Get the Lead Out," Jane Brody, The New York Times," 17 January 2006 p. F6. This is a good article for summarizing the lead issue.
• SOP for Determining Lead (Pb) and And Its Availability in Children's Jewelry
• Toy Industry Policy on Lead in Toys, International Council of Toy Industries, October 8, 1997

  "The voluntary standard established in the United States under ASTM F-963 and the European standard under EN-71 for soluble lead in toys (lead which may migrate from the toy and be ingested by the child) is 90 parts-per-million. At that level, any intentional use of lead in paints or other surface coatings containing lead would immediately put the toy over the permitted limit."

  "Under federal law, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces a standard for total lead of 600 ppm. Recently, the CPSC refused to lower the lead limit in paint and other similar surface coating materials to 100 ppm after finding that most paints sold in the United States were already at or below that level and, therefore, these materials did not present an unreasonable risk of injury warranting further government regulation."

• Extreme Lead Poisoning Symptoms Suggested by Feb 2006 NY Times Article on Kosovo Roma Camps
• Environmental Hazard Testing, Effects, Remedies, Prevention - our main Enviro-Haz web page
• Drinking Water Contamination and Pollution How to Detect, Test, Correct, and Prevent Well Water Contamination - US EPA - Groundwater

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