Short-term exposure to high levels of lead can cause a metallic taste, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, convulsions, coma or even death. However, very few cases of acute lead poisoning are documented in Canada each year. The results of long-term exposure to lead may be less noticeable but are nevertheless serious. While the most obvious manifestation is anaemia, exposure has also been linked to impaired mental function, visual-motor performance and neurological damage in children, and memory and attention span. Exposure is also associated with lack of appetite, abdominal pain and constipation, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability and headache.
Children are particularly at risk because they absorb lead more easily than adults do.
They are developing rapidly, and are more susceptible to the health hazards of lead. Contaminated dust is a particularly important source of exposure for babies and young children, because they can ingest a significant amount of dust through their natural habit of putting things is their mouths. During pregnancy, lead can cross the placenta and reach the tissue of the unborn child. Researchers believe that the last trimester of pregnancy may be the most critical time for this to occur. In the past, increased spontaneous abortions and stillbirth rates were noted in female industrial workers exposed to high levels of lead.