The Hazards of Lead
L-E-A-D. What is it? Oh, everyone knows. Or do we? As a child, your first conscious awareness of lead was probably the black substance found in pencils. But soon enough you considered yourself learned when you came to find out that ''lead'' in pencils is really just graphite (actually it is a graphite and clay mixture). Later you became thoroughly confused when you learned that graphite and diamond have the same chemical formula, yet are so different visually and economically. To clarify some of these confusions consider that lead was used as a line writing tool all the way back to the Egyptians. But when graphite became the preferred writing filament in the mid-16th century, and chemistry had not yet sufficient discriminated graphite from lead (that was to come in 1779 by K.W. Scheele), people started calling graphite filled pencils, ''leaded.'' Unfortunately, the confusion surrounding lead goes well beyond its associations with the pencil. A closer look at lead reveals some much more important issues as well.
Your first real contact with lead occurred before you used your first pencil or could even spell it. It is an element that entered your body when you were just an embryo and from that point on has affected you and your children in ways that you probably didn't even realize. For this reason, lead definitely deserves a closer look.
The use of lead throughout human history, from its discovery in Turkey some 8,000 years ago, is a story that could fill many book volumes. And from the earliest beginning of its use, it has been strongly associated with human suffering. Many have speculated that the Roman Empire fell in part due to the influences of lead poisoning largely because its wide use in ite...
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...cracking or peeling paint very seriously and attempt to eliminate it carefully and responsibly. The EPA suggests that residents should consult a professional before trying to remove paint themselves, largely because in the removal process, tremendous amounts of hazardous lead dust can be produced. If the expense of a professional is prohibitive at this time, the Knox County Health Department has a very handy pamphlet which guides residents through the process of removing paint in a safe and effective manner; the pamphlet can be obtained by calling the Health Department. I can't stress how important it is for parents to take the extra time necessary to reduce the production of paint dust and thereby reduce lead exposure to their children.
Who would have thought that such a useful material could be responsible for so many problems over such a long period of time?
Modern technology has helped with the growth of many medical discoveries, but the original ideas all had to start from somewhere. One of the most famous surgeons in the medical world, Ambroise Pare is responsible for many of this generation’s practices. Ambroise Pare was born in 1510. He was a French surgeon, and later advanced to do his work as a royal surgeon for kings Henry II, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. From there, he went on to become one of the most influential people in medical work this world has seen. Because of him, many are still able to learn and grow from his teachings. Ambroise Pare impacted many people and ideas of medicine because of the innovative ideas he shared, the lives he saved, and the legacy he left behind.
This is why the Flint water crisis is so critical today. Because young children are being exposed to lead and they should actually be screened from the lead. The pipelines with lead in the water system and the whole community of Flint, not being able to drink water out of the facet as well as not being able to
The Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) was created June 7, 1991 and is found in 40 CFR 141 (USEPA, 2011). This section discuses the monitoring measures to test for the presence of lead, public notification requirements, and the action level (AL) established by the LCR. The section concludes with requirements that must be met if the AL is exceeded: water quality parameter monitoring, public education, corrosion control treatment, source water monitoring and /or treatment, and the replacement of lead service lines.
Medical procedures and inventions are constantly being developed and made better. World War 1 was a time in which many of the procedures used today were first thought of and used. It was a time that inspired the doctors and nurses working today, not to mention the fact that it’s a topic that still affects everyone in the world today. Medical advancements made during World War 1 had a major impact on the world as evidenced by those advancements still in use today.
Question: In considering the monetary estimates of childhood lead poisoning prevention, list and note the relative importance of the categories of costs and benefits that need to be considered is projecting a cost/benefit ratio. Use a standard housing remediation approach for those expenses. Where does the balance lay? What are the options and barriers to moving it forward?General Effects of Childhood Lead Poisoning When lead in inhaled it, the lead could be deposited in the bones where some essential body function occurs e.g. blood formations, calcium absorption. Lead is also transported in blood stream and deposited in muscle and nerves and blood vessels. The deposition of lead in these organs systems eventually results in the malfunctioning of these organs. These malfunctions could include decrease in bone and muscle growth/co-ordination, damage to the nervous system and other organs of the body. (KidsHealth, 1995-2010) The above mentioned effects could also impair breakdown and use of nutrients by the body, decreased hearing ability. In addition, it affects child growth, in the sense that it has been shown that children with higher blood lead levels may on average be shorter than their genetic potential by 1cm.Effect of Lead on cognition and Behavior of Children: Lead poisoning have been identified as one of the factors responsible for cognitive deficits and mental illness among children. There has been shown a correlation between Blood Lead Level and cognitive functioning in children and infant (Bruce P. Lanphear, 2005). Bruce P et al in a study of Low-level environmental lead exposure and children's intellectual function, showed an inverse relationship between blood lead concentrations and IQ score...
During, and after World War I, there were lots of things that changed and advanced, some of the main, big changes and advances after World War I, was in the field of phycology and medicine. There were many different advances in the field of medicine after World War I, some of the main, medical advances, were in the field of surgery, development of new drugs, and in the field mental health and phycology.
With advances in weaponry came an increase in deaths and major limb injuries. During WWI the primary action was to amputate the limb rather than try and salvage it. This was due to the little time nurses, surgeons and anaesthetists had with each patient in the field hospitals, because they were overrun by more than double their expected capacity. There-fore, surgeons had to choose which critical patients to treat first, resulting in 41,000 ampu-tees during the First World War, all in need of artificial limbs (Pensions, 1939).
There are differences in the primary routes of exposure, Babies and children can swallow lead through breast feeding. They can be exposed to lead in the womb if their mothers have lead in their bodies. In children ingestion is the major route of exposure. Lead paint is the major source. In older houses as the lead paint deteriorates, peels, chips or is...
Lead, simply put, is an element found in the earth’s crust. It is slightly soluble in water and is transported mainly through the atmosphere (Harte et al. 1991). The human usage of lead dates back to five- thousand years ago when it was discovered that small quantities of silver could be extracted from lead ore (Harte et al. 1991). The ancient civilizations of Phoenicia, Egypt, Greece, India, and China used lead for vessels, roofs, water ducts, utensils, ornaments, and weights (Harte et al. 1991). Romans used lead acetate as an artificial sweetener in their drinks. Lead acetate, known as sugar of lead, would sweeten a vintage without causing further fermentation, which would have occurred with the addition of sweeteners like honey (Le Courteur and Burreson 2003). The Romans also used lead pipes for plumbing their homes with water. The Latin name for lead is Plumbum (like the word plumbing) hence the symbol Pb on the periodic table (August 1998). Only the rich Romans had access to water in their homes through lead pipes. Lead poisoning from th...
Lead is a metal found virtually everywhere even today. Sources of lead include auto body shops, electric storage batteries, glazes for china dishes, crockery, insecticides, electric cable insulation, hose, pipe, sheet and floor coverings. Lead is associated with stain glass work, jewelry making and antique ceramic doll painting. Although lead in paint was outlawed, there are still many homes that have lead paint (White et al, 1990). Lead found in gasoline was found in one study to account for 23--27% of the lead blood levels in the people tested (Wagner, 1991). This exposure to lead sources is more of a concern for children due to the characteristic habit of children to taste everything they touch; this characteristic is known as pica. Children are also in closer contact with their lead polluted environment during play. They are more active and exposed to outdoor contaminates and they inhale dust and dirt that are lead contaminated. Furthermore, the adsorption rate of lead in the digestive tract is up to 10 times greater in chil...
Lead toxicity has been an area of unending research in recent years. There have been positive and negative correlation’s relating its toxic effects to both child developmental deficiencies and adult regression problems. This review will focus on the problems associated with the children. It will discuss various routes of entry of lead into the child’s system, both prenatally and postnatally, the mechanisms employed by lead to cause the dysfunction’s, and some of the neurological deficits believed to be caused by the lead exposure.
There are many contributing factors that enhance the amount of lead in the environment, for instance, environmental lead occurs from the burning of leaded gasoline, from battery and smelter industries and it’s also found in ink and paper. Additionally, many canned food products are sealed with lead solder (Analytical Research Laboratories, 2012). Due to the vast quantity of lead found in the environment, exposure is inevitable. On the contrary, there are three main ways in which lead can enter the body: inhalation, ingestion or absorption through the skin. It may be inhaled when it is burned or melted, releasing some of the lead as a fume and or when dust that contains lead becomes airborne. In terms of ingestion, lead may be ingested through drinking water, when dust particles containing lead come in contact with food or food preparation surfaces, etc. In particular cases that inv...
Lead is a commonly used chemical element, it is a heavy metal but yet denser than most materials we use. On the periotic table lead is assigned under the symbol Pb (Plumbum, meaning liquid silver) and the atomic number of lead is 82. Lead was never formally discovered; it has been around since the ancient times. The color of led color at first comes off as a blue/whitish color when freshly cut and once it is exposed
Changing situations throughout the world affect all organizations in business today. Therefore, most organizations acknowledge the need to experience change and transformation in order to survive. The key challenges companies face are due to the advancements in technology, the social environment caused by globalization, the pace of competition, and the demands regarding customer expectations. It is difficult to overcome the obstacles involved with change despite all the articles, books, and publications devoted to the topic. People are naturally resistant to fundamental changes and often intimidated by the process; the old traditional patterns and methods are no longer effective.