Lead Exposure
Lead Exposure FAQs
What is lead?
Why is lead exposure so dangerous?
How is does lead exposure occur?
What workers are affected by lead exposure?
Who is most affected by lead exposure?
How can I reduce the risk of lead exposure?
Are there any standards for lead content?
What legal rights do I have regarding lead
exposure?
What is lead?
Lead is a naturally occurring metal found in the earth’s
crust. Most lead is the result of human activities. An estimated
10 million metric tons of lead residue in the environment
is the result of the use of leaded gasoline and paint. The
burning of leaded gasoline is what accounts for 90% of the
lead in the atmosphere. Due to the increasing health concerns
as a result of lead exposure, lead from paint, gas, ceramic
products, pipe solder, and caulking has been significantly
decreased.
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Why is lead
exposure so dangerous?
Lead exposure is very harmful to the
body because lead absorption disrupts neurological functioning.
Adults are affected by a much lower amount of lead exposure
than children, with approximately half of all lead inhalation
absorbed into a child’s body. The body stores lead in
bones and teeth, allowing it to accumulate for decades. Lead
exposure creates many problems because lead is unable to naturally
break down so it must be professionally removed. Attempting
to prevent lead exposure by removing lead without a professional
lead abatement service is dangerous and should not be done.
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How does lead
exposure occur?
Hazardous waste sites contaminates residents
living near them with lead exposure that is in the air, water,
and dust and dirt containing lead that enters people’s
homes and gets on their clothing. Other cases of lead exposure
are in homes that contain paint from before 1978 which may
contain lead that is somehow ingested when it peels or chips,
drinking water containing lead or eating food with lead, working
with materials that contain lead, or being involved in recreational
activities like sculpturing or staining glass, which contains
lead. Burning leaded gasoline used to be the largest source
of lead emissions, but the EPA has now banned its use in gasoline
with the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 as of December 31,
1995.
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What
workers are affected by lead exposure?
Approximately half a million to 1 ½ million people
are victims to lead exposure at their jobs. Workers that are
with lead exposure at work usually breathe in lead particles
floating in the air. There are many occupations that where
lead exposure is a problem, for instance lead smelting, refining
industries, lead compound manufacturing industries, rubber
and plastics industries, soldering, battery manufacturing
plants, and various other industries that include municipal
waster, pottery and ceramics, and radiator repair shops.
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Who
is most affected by lead exposure?
Unfortunately lead exposure affects children the most, with
just under a million U.S. children between the ages of 1-5
believed to have blood lead levels greater than the amount
the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has identified
as elevated levels of lead, or 10 micrograms per deciliter.
This amount of lead exposure identifies when neurological
effects occur with lead, but studies indicate neurological
damage occurs at amounts less than 10 ug/dL. Children are
not yet fully developed so lead exposure affects the progression
and growth of that child. Typical problems that may occur
with lead exposure are learning and speech disabilities, impaired
hearing, decreased growth, hyperactivity, and brain damage.
The damage that lead exposure causes a child is irreversible.
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How
can I reduce the risk of lead exposure?
Since dust, soil, and dirt often contain lead, it is important
to keep your child’s hands and belongings as clean as
possible to prevent the child from putting their hands in
their mouths and ingesting the lead. By keeping your house
and clothing as clean as possible it can keep lead exposure
and lead containing dust to a minimum. For individuals that
work in industries that involve lead exposure, changing clothes
before returning home can prevent lead from entering living
areas, especially when children are present.
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Are
there any standards for lead content?
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention determined that
children have elevated levels of lead if the content of lead
in the blood is 10 ug/dL and there are approximately 1 million
U.S. children that have lead levels equal to or greater than
this amount. EPA regulations no longer allow lead in gasoline
because the concentration of lead in the air can be no higher
than 1.5 micrograms per cubic meter averaged over a 3-month
span. Burning leaded gasoline used to be the single largest
source of lead emissions until the Clean Air Act Amendments
of 1990 banned the sale of leaded gasoline. EPA regulations
limit lead in drinking water to 0.015 milligrams per liter.
Water coolers containing lead must be recalled or repaired
and new coolers must be lead free under the Lead Contamination
Control Act of 1988. The Consumer Product Safety Commission
requires lead concentration in paint cannot have more than
0.06% to protect children.
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What legal rights
do I have regarding lead exposure?
Lead exposure has been a problem for years now due to landlords,
lenders, or manufacturer negligence. If you feel you are a
victim of lead exposure as a result of negligence or wrongful
conduct please contact a Lead Poisoning
Lawyer .
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