ARTICLES
These articles are Listed by dates they were added
Tuesday march 12th 2002
What You Should Know About Lead
By Sheila
Saucier
Lead, the toxic metal known to be harmful to man, has
been sneaking unoticed into the bloodstreams of millions of
Americans over many years. It seeps insidiously into our water
risking the lives of our unborn and our children, often going
unnoticed until it's too late. It enters our homes on the feet
of every occupant, picked up from the soil outside. It can
cover the work clothes of mechanics, plumbers, lead smelter workers,
and other high risk occupations. The same clothes that we wash
along with our children's clothes, unknowingly endangering
them.
Lead is an invisible enemy, often in the form of simple
dust that enters our home. Dust that can be both inhaled or
ingested especially by young children who tend to put everything in
their mouths.
In other words lead poisoning is still a very
real threat present in our environment, damaging the brains and
nervous system of many of it's victims, the majority of which are
children.
Of great concern is our water supply. The EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that about forty two
million Americans use household water that contains unsafe levels of
lead. Precisely, levels in excess of 15 ppb (parts per
billion), which is the highest recommended safety level.However,
there is no truly safe level of lead, because it does not belong in
the human body, and it does not leave our bodies once it has
entered. Instead, it is stored just like calcium and other minerals
in the bone matter where it continues to build up over our
lifetime.
It's no wonder that as many as one out of eleven
children in the United States have dangerously high levels of lead
in their bloodstream according to the EPA. Some other sources
suggest this number is as great as one in eight children!
As
hard as this is to believe, the facts are very real. Lead is
decreasing the I.Q.'s of many young victims, creating
learning
disabilities, such as speech and behavior problems, not to mention
hearing loss, muscular coordination problems, and much
more.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that
regular lead screening should be done on children up to age six,
with the first test done between six to twelve months of age.
However, it has been my personal experience that Pediatricians are
not routinely checking for lead in children. Certainly none
have ever suggested it to me, and my children have seen a dozen
different Pediatrician's over the years.
It appears that few
people really believe their families are at risk and feel their
homes are safe. The reality is however , that your home's
water probably does contain lead in some amount, and in fact, an
estimated 10 million children receive significantly high amounts of
lead in their drinking water in our country every
day.
Following are some other common sources of
lead.
bone china
crystal
painted surfaces
brass
faucets
painted toys
antique pewter
foreign made
crayons
ammunition,
pellets
chalk
fruits
air
water
porcelain
earthenware
plastic
mini-blinds
solder
stained glass
storage
batteries
gasoline additives
water pipe corrosion
water
pipe solder
vegetables
soil
dust
Today experts
regard soldering as the major cause of lead contamination of
household water in U.S. homes. New brass faucets and fittings
can also leach lead during corrosion, even though they claim to be
"lead free."
It's sad to note that the newer the home, the
greater the risk of lead contamination. Why? Because normally,
as time passes, mineral deposits form a coating on the inside of
water pipes,(if the water is not corrosive.) This coating
insulates the water from the lead-containing solder present.
But during the first five years, before the coating forms, water is
in direct contact with the lead and carries it into your home.Some
recent studies suggest that food is our main source of adult human
exposure with as much as 60% of total ingested lead coming from the
food we eat, air inhalation accounting for 30%, and water for
10%.
Children, pregnant women, and calcium deficient
individuals are in the greatest risk group for lead toxicity.
What's
frightening to realize is that dangerously high levels of
lead do not necessarily present any symptoms in children. So
it's no surprise few Physicians or parents ever suspect lead
toxicity in their children.
It's also interesting to note
that many of the symptoms of ADHD, (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder), mimic those of lead toxicity. I can't help but wonder how
many children diagnosed with this disease may actually be lead toxic
instead. Take a look at the symptoms that may or may not present
themselves.
In
children:
fatigue
crankiness
hyperactivity
convulsions
restlessness
headaches
insomnia
stupor
constipation
poor
appetite
behavior and learning problems
brain and nervous
system damage
slowed growth
earing and speech
problems
nausea/vomiting
abdominal pain
anemia
lack of
muscular coordination
In adults:
difficulty during
pregnancy, such as miscarriage, etc.
reproductive problems (men
and women)
high blood pressure
digestive problems
nerve
disorders
anemia
muscle and joint pain
memory and
concentration problems
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only if all information below this notice, including the WWIO web
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Copyright
© 1997 by Sheila Blythe-Saucier. Founder and owner of Safety
Net-Child Safety Consultants, Sheila Blythe-Saucier is in the
business of protecting children from the hazards that exist in their
homes and communities. An R.N. for the last 20 years, Sheila
extensively researched and authored a child safety book, which lead
to the development of her business. Through a home inspection
covering over 600 hazards commonly found in and
around homes with
young children, parents receive an education on protecting their
kids fully, in a few hours
time.
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