How Lead Exposure Affects the Way We Live & Breathe

Published by the US EPA
Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards
November 2000

Levels of the pollutant - "lead" - in the air have decreased dramatically since 1978, primarily due to reductions in emissions from cars and trucks. Today, metal processing plants are generally responsible for most of the lead in the air.

urban area [courtesy of EPA - Environmental Protection Agency]

Table of Contents
Lead: What is it? Where does it come from?
Chief Causes for Concern
Health and Environmental Impacts of Lead

Lead: What is it? Where does it come from?

Lead is a metal found naturally in the environment as well
as in manufactured products. The major sources of lead emissions have historically been motor vehicles (such as cars and trucks) and industrial sources. Due to the phase out of leaded gasoline, metals processing is the major source of lead emissions to the air today. The highest levels of lead in air are generally found near lead smelters. Other stationary sources are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers.

[Courtesy of EPA - Environmental Protection Agency]

Chief Causes for Concern

Lead. . .

particularly affects young children and infants
is still found at high levels in urban and industrial areas
deposits on soil and water and harms animals and fish

Children are at greatest risk
Although overall blood lead levels have decreased since 1976, infants and young children still have the highest blood lead levels. Children and others can be exposed to lead not only through the air, but also through accidentally or intentionally eating soil or paint chips, as well as food or water contaminated with lead.

incinerator stack [courtesy of EPA - Environmental Protection Agency]

High levels of lead are still of concern in localized areas.
Urban areas with high levels of traffic, trash incinerators, or other industry, as well as areas near lead smelters, battery plants, or industrial facilities that burn fuel, may still have high lead levels in air. In 1999, ten areas of the country did not meet the national health-based air quality standards for lead.

Health and Environmental Impacts of Lead

People, animals, and fish are mainly exposed to lead by breathing and ingesting it in food, water, soil, or dust. Lead accumulates in the blood, bones, muscles, and fat. Infants and young children are especially sensitive to even low levels of lead.

[courtesy of EPA]	Damages organs - Lead causes damage to the kidneys, liver, brain and nerves, and other organs. Exposure to lead may also lead to osteoporosis (brittle bone disease) and reproductive disorders.
[courtesy of EPA]	Affects the brain and nerves - Excessive exposure to lead causes seizures, mental retardation, behavioral disorders, memory problems, and mood changes. Low levels of lead damage the brain and nerves in fetuses and young children, resulting in learning deficits and lowered IQ.
[courtesy of EPA]	Affects the heart and blood - Lead exposure causes high blood pressure and increases heart disease, especially in men. Lead exposure may also lead to anemia, or weak blood.
[courtesy of EPA]	Affects animals and plants - Wild and domestic animals can ingest lead while grazing. They experience the same kind of effects as people who are exposed to lead. Low concentrations of lead can slow down vegetation growth near industrial facilities.
[courtesy of EPA]	Affects fish - Lead can enter water systems through runoff and from sewage and industrial waste streams. Elevated levels of lead in the water can cause reproductive damage in some aquatic life and cause blood and neurological changes in fish and other animals that live there.

Reference: Urban Air - Lead.

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