Assignment 3: Final Project: Background Paper

Impact of Lead Exposure

PHE 5010 Environmental and Occupational Health

Impact of Lead Exposure

The earth is rich in heavy metals like lead metal; 0.002%. Dating back to pre-historical times, first metal has been in use and has considerably been disseminated and mobilized in the surroundings. An exposure and intake of lead have been on the rise. Whether environmental or occupational exposures, lead has proven to be a stern issue with most of the countries across the globe. Public health campaigns against lead exposure have reduced the impacts, lead poisoning, and exposures. There are some consequences of lead exposure in the entire world. The exposure doesn't spare any category be it age, income, locality or employed. It is true there are huge impacts of lead exposure in the globe with supporting evidence all around.

Problem statement

Lead poisoning has remained a scourge to the health of humans for long period of years. At its prime stage, lead poisoning has resulted in attacks to the brain, the nervous system thus leading to coma, death, and convulsions. The most known and common human disease is lead poisoning. People around the globe today are at risk of being exposed to lead. Lead is a natural metal found in the earth crust which is termed toxic. The spread of lead has led to various ecological contaminations; human exposure will bring about great health issues across the globe.

Over the past number of years there has been a widespread use of this metal compound thus causing extensive environmental contamination, human exposure and significant public health problems globally. The chief sources of this metal compound comprises of smelting, mining, recycling and manufacturing activities. From research of world health organization, (WHO 2016), 75% of the consumed lead globally originates from lead-acid batteries for motor vehicles. Lead is also used in pigments, paints, solder, stained glass, ceramic glasses, jewellery and some cosmetics and traditional medicines. Most of the lead consumed in the global commerce is from recycling. Due to the high consumption percentage, a high percentage of people are over exposed to lead.

Most of the lead found in the environment is as a result of human activities such as the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and lead acid batteries. Lead causes adverse effects on human health. It can enter into the body in the form of the uptake of water, food, and air. As lead enters the body, it’s distributed into the various body organs such as the brain, kidney, liver and bones. The metal causes unwanted effects such as kidney damage, the rise in blood pressure, brain damage, the disruption of the nervous system, and pregnancy problems to expectant mothers (Ratcliffe, 2016). This lead is then stored in bones and teeth over a period of time as one is exposed continuously to lead. Gosseline et al (2009) in the book ‘Environmental health risks’ states that overexposure of lead to human may result to brain and central nervous system attack which ultimately leads to coma. Young Children who have survived severe lead poisoning may be left with mental retardation and behavioural disorders.

Problem justification

Lead exposure and impact comes in ways; such as, people can inhale lead particles out of burnt materials with lead; for instance when melting, recycling or stripping leaded paint and the use of lead gasoline or ingestion of any lead dust contaminated with lead, water out leaded pipes and food packed in lead-soldered materials. The world health organization body has come out with a report that, lead is one of the one out of ten chemicals which have attracted public health concern and prompting the need for a quick solution. The most affected are children, women at their reproductive age and health worker.

Lead exposure and impact have become a global menace with most of the diseases caused by expose to dust out of deteriorated paint on the old homes. Across the globe, 310,000 children are poisoned by lead with the exposure notwithstanding race, income or even location. There is no positive value which is benefited by the human body out of the lead, and there are no documented results as to the safe levels of the metal.

References

Gosselin, J. D., & Fancher, I. M. (2009). Environmental health risks: Lead poisoning and arsenic exposure. New York: Nova Science Publishers.

Ratcliffe, D. (2016). Effects of lead on the environment. Lead.org.au. Retrieved 16 October 2016, from https://www.lead.org.au/lanv1n2/lanv1n2-8.html

Simeonov, L., Kochubovski, M. V., & Simeonova, B. G. (2011). Environmental heavy metal pollution and effects on child mental development: Risk assessment and prevention strategies. Dordrecht: Springer.

WHO. (2016). Lead Poisoning and Health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs379/en/