| Lead-Poisoning-Resources
provides information on the sources and the effects of
lead poisoning. Information on how to better protect your
family and children from the hazardous
effects of lead poisoning is provided, as well as
contact information to help you understand your legal
rights regarding lead poisoning. |
Effects of Lead Poisoning on Children
. . . from the serious effects
of lead poisoning that can be permanent. Developmental
progression and growth is negatively affected when children
are exposed to lead, producing such complications like speech
delay, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, learning
disabilities, behavior disorders, neurological and renal damage,
stunted growth, anemia, hearing loss, and mental retardation.
Because lead does not dissolve in water, biodegrade, dissipate,
decay, or burn, it continues to affect millions of people
everyday who encounter lead at their work place, their homes,
and in water and food.
Just
under 1 million U.S. children five years and younger have
blood lead levels high enough to permanently damage their
health according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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LEAD POISONING |::|
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. .
. a chronic intoxication caused when lead is absorbed
into the body through the inhalation or ingestion of,
in most cases, paint, dust, or soil containing lead.
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Effects of Lead Poisoning and Your Legal Rights
One out of every eleven U.S. children
has a dangerous level of lead in their blood.
Innocent people have suffered the serious
and irreversible
effects of lead poisoning on the body due to a landlord,
lender, or paint manufacturer’s negligence. Being unnecessarily
exposed to the dangers of lead has affected children the most
because they can absorb up to 50% of the lead they ingest,
sometimes leading to brain damage.
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Health Effects of Lead Poisoning
Lead exposure harms young children
and babies even before birth.
Lead has serious long-term
effects especially on children. Because children have
not fully developed, lead exposure can begin when a child
is a fetus if the mother has been exposed to lead. Pregnant
mothers should take extra caution to avoid lead exposure because
up to 50% of a child’s blood lead level can be absorbed
through the mother’s body.
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Lead Poisoning News Stories
From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Click
here to read a
Breaking News Story from the ATSDR!
January 29, 2002
Herculaneum, MO residents want their
city put on the federal
government list ranking the nation’s most polluted
sites, in hopes for government buyout of their lead-filled
homes. Most families in Herculaneum just want to get their
families out of the lead contaminated areas but cannot afford
it because their house and land value is so low due to the
health problems and location to the lead smelters. Some families
have been able to take advantage of the temporary relocation
while they wait for their homes and yard to be stripped of
the lead contamination.
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Where is Lead Found?
Lead enters the body by breathing
or swallowing dust containing lead or ingesting soil or paint
chips containing lead.
Lead is found in many sources due to the
fact that it is not able to dissolve in water or biodegrade,
dissipate, decay, or burn. Ninety percent of the lead in the
atmosphere is the result of the burning of leaded gasoline,
but the EPA has banned lead in gasoline. Most lead
found in the environment is the result of human activity.
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Lead Poisoning Prevention
Even children who may appear to be
healthy can have dangerously high levels of lead.
Although it is easier to prevent lead
poisoning than treating it, detecting lead can be challenging.
By educating families about the dangers and possible sources
of lead serious
health complications can be eliminated, many of which
cannot be reversed. Recognizing lead sources in order to eliminate
them can keep children safe.
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