Lead Poison


According to a 1990 New England Journal of Medicine, “The persistence toxicity of lead was seen to result in significant and serious impairment of academic success, specifically a seven fold increase in failure to graduate from high school, lower class standing, greater absenteeism, impairment of reading skills sufficiently extensive to be labeled reading disability (indicated by scores two grades below the expected scores), and deficits in vocabulary, fine motor skills, reaction time and hand-eye coordination.”

Children and fetuses are most affected by lead poison because they have not yet fully developed. A pregnant mother exposed to lead poison can pass it through her body, harming the fetus and causing:
  • Stillbirth
  • Miscarriage
  • Low birth rate
  • Premature birth
  • Impairment of sensory-motor development

Lead poison effects on children can become permanent, depending on the age of lead exposure, amount of lead poison absorbed into the blood, and how long the lead exposure lasts. Lead poison exposure can cause:

Brain damage
Nervous system damage- can cause seizures, coma, and death
Anemia
Damage to the teeth
Kidney function changes
Behavioral problems
Learning disorders
Delayed and/or slower growth
Hearing problems
Headaches

Lead Poison Facts

·Lead poison is identified as blood lead levels containing 10 microliters/decaliter of lead.

·The damage lead poison can have on the body is irreversible.

·Over 1 million workers may be exposed to lead poison at their jobs every day.

·Lead poison is the number one environmental killer of U.S. children under the age of six.

·There are approximately 1 million children five years and younger that have lead levels equal to or greater than the specified amount of dangerous lead levels.

·A child’s body absorbs up to 50% of the lead ingested.

·It is estimated that 9,150 children have an IQ below 70 due to lead poison exposure.

·Effects of lead poison on children include speech delay, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, stunted growth, neurological and renal damage, mental retardation, anemia, and hearing loss.

·Lead poison affects babies that are not born yet, allowing up to 50% of lead ingested coming from fetal absorption when the mom has been exposed to lead.

·It is hard to detect lead poison due to the lack of visible symptoms, allowing diagnoses to be delayed and further cognitive damage to occur.

·Lead does not dissolve in water, biodegrade, dissipate, decay, or burn and must be removed professionally in order to remove the source.


 

 

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Adults are affected by lead poison
in different ways, sometimes lead-
ing to high blood pressure and damage to reproductive organs. Adult
lead poison symptoms are:
  • Death
  • Coma
  • Seizures
  • Reprod-
    uctive problems
  • Digestive problems
  • Listlessness
  • Lack of coordination
  • Vomiting
  • Altered conscious-
    ness
  • Bizarre behavior
  • Loss of recently acquired
    skills
  • Pregnancy difficulties