Lead Poisoning​—A Global Dilemma

SIR John Franklin’s expedition to find the fabled Northwest Passage was in trouble. His two ships were icebound, and the long Arctic winter had just begun. Already one seaman had died in a strange way​—he had slowly grown irrational, become hysterical, and finally wasted away to death. Then the madness spread. More men died. After the toll reached two dozen deaths over the next two years, surviving members of the expedition were so determined to get away from their ships that they set out on a desperate trek southward over the frozen wasteland, hauling huge sleds laden with many unnecessary belongings, even luxury items. Not one member of the expedition survived. That was in 1848. For about 140 years, the cause of their madness was a mystery. But in the last decade, tests of hair and bone fragments revealed a key piece of the puzzle: lead. The men had eaten meat preserved in cans sealed with lead solder. They had been poisoned with lead!

Lead poisoning was a problem long before the days of that doomed expedition, and it has blossomed into a global health threat since. In recent years reams have been written about the hazards of lead poisoning. Health organizations around the world are in a dilemma as to how to cope with it. Especially in countries, such as those in Latin America and Eastern Europe, where there are only limited environmental controls, lead poisoning has become an increasing problem. Industrialized nations are concerned as well.

A decade ago, alarmed by mounting evidence that lead poisoning had become a widespread disease, health officials in Australia, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Scotland, and the United States began studies to determine just how dangerous even very low levels of lead are to human beings, especially children.

How Dangerous?

Could exposure to a simple, common metal really be so dangerous? Dr. Richard Wedeen, author of Poison in the Pot: The Legacy of Lead, believes that lead might very well contaminate every biochemical function of the human body. He therefore concludes that “lead may be linked to high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks as well as kidney disease.” Wedeen believes that some adults who suffer from acute lead poisoning may even become alcoholics and end up in mental institutions.

The World Book Encyclopedia lists other symptoms, such as anemia, drowsiness, muscle cramps, weakness, paralysis, stomach pains, and vomiting. “Brain damage, coma, and convulsions occur in severe cases, and extreme cases of lead poisoning have caused death,” the encyclopedia reports. And a significant proportion of those who recover from severe cases suffer residual brain damage, writes one noted doctor.

Just what does lead do to produce these symptoms? In effect, the body mistakes lead for calcium, so it makes no effort to get rid of it. Roaming in the bloodstream, lead wreaks havoc just about wherever it goes. In blood, it inhibits the production of hemoglobin, damaging the blood’s oxygen-​carrying ability. In the brain and nervous system, it attaches itself to key proteins called enzymes and renders them useless. The bones gather up lead and store it, sometimes releasing it much later to do more damage.

Two attributes of lead poisoning make it especially dangerous. First, it can be a subtle, creeping sort of illness, difficult to detect. Second, largely because of the industrial revolution, lead is virtually everywhere in our environment.

A Ubiquitous Metal

Today, lead’s uses are limited only by man’s imagination. Since the 1920’s until recently, for example, millions of tons of lead have been added to gasoline to improve engine performance. Lead has been widely used in paint, although some countries have now severely limited this use.

But even if you live in a country where lead has long been banned from use in paint or gasoline, you may not be entirely safe from exposure to lead. You may, for instance, live in a house or an apartment that was painted before such laws went into effect. Or perhaps where you live, there are many older-​model cars that still burn leaded gasoline, still pour out leaded fumes that contaminate the air and the soil around you.

Then, too, lead has been widely used in plumbing and solder. Lead shielding material is used to protect X-ray technicians and nuclear-​energy workers from harmful radiation. Drinking fountains having tanks with seams of lead-​based solder are still in use, as are food cans with seams joined by lead solder. Lead crystal is popular in wine glasses and decanters. Even some baby bottles are made from lead crystal. There are lead plates in car batteries. Lead bullets and shotgun pellets are used by the countless millions. The list seems endless.

Although lead poisoning among adults is of serious concern to the medical profession, the most vulnerable victims of this malady are children. Why children? And how can you safeguard them and yourself from this physically and mentally debilitating disease?

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Could exposure to a common metal really be so dangerous?

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Free to roam the bloodstream, lead wreaks havoc just about wherever it goes

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“Lead may be linked to high blood pressure, strokes, and heart attacks as well as kidney disease”

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Photo: Painting by Thomas Smith, courtesy of the Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England