The purpose of this program is to protect employees from the hazards associated with heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic and chemicals containing these metals. This program applies to all locations at UNM that use lead, cadmium or arsenic and chemicals containing these metals. Lead Lead can enter your body through inhalation and ingestion. Some organic lead compounds, such as tetraethyl lead, can be absorbed through the skin, but for inorganic lead compounds this is not a common route of exposure.
Absorbed lead is carried through the blood stream and is stored in various organs and tissues.
This may lead to coma and death. Occupational exposures of this magnitude are rare. Chronic overexposure to lead may damage your blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems. Overexposure to lead can cause kidney disease or anemia. Lead adversely affects the reproductive systems of both men and women.