If we drink water, tea, or other beverages contaminated with lead. If we or our children breathe dust particles, causing some of them to get caught in the nose and lungs. If those particles contain lead, the lead can be taken into the blood stream. It is important for you to know that lead does not enter the body through the skin. The skin forms a natural barrier which can keep the lead out.
Children tend to explore their environments using their sense of taste.
This leads to placing objects such as paint chips and dirt into the mouth. At early stages of development, young children are also growing much more rapidly than adults and may be more sensitive to small amounts of lead than adults. For the same reason, the growing fetus of a pregnant woman may be harmed by lead that does not affect the mother. Physical signs of lead poisoning are apparent only after significant exposure. Lead poisoning can cause adults to be irritable, to have poor muscle coordination, and to suffer nerve damage to the sensory organs and muscles.