A Guide to Household Toxins - A Guide to Home Safety | HowStuffWorks A Guide to Household Toxins Prev Next ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. Household toxins can come from unlikely sources and cause serious health problems. You may not see or smell them, but a wide range of toxins may be in your home. Some can cause serious health problems. Read on to learn how to find and eliminate these potential hazards. Lead Before World War II, most homes were painted with lead paint. In fact, about 75 percent of all homes built before 1980 have lead-based paint. In 1978, the United States banned lead paint for interior use, but many non-lead paints were then used to cover older walls that still contained traces of lead. Sanding off this bottom coat of paint releases lead dust that is highly toxic. Up Next Storms Are Brewing! Is your home prepared? In addition, many ceramic-glazed and antique dishes contain lead, as do some older painted wooden and metal toys. Older homes may have lead pipes that can seep lead into the family's drinking water. This is especially serious in families with infants when tap water is used to make the formula.

Traces of lead may also be in the soil of the yard where children play. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 1.6 percent of children aged 1 to 5 years had harmful levels of lead in their blood. Children are at greater risk of lead poisoning because they have more hand-to-mouth exposure, have less body mass, and are growing at a faster rate than adults. Children don't even have to eat dirt or paint chips to be harmed by the lead. Unfortunately, lead dust is absorbed by the body. Minor traces of lead in the body can cause extreme fatigue, headaches, mental confusion, learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and vague aches and pains. According to the American Lead Consultants, even low levels of exposure to lead can cause a four- to six-point drop in a child's IQ. But higher amounts of lead poisoning can have even more drastic effects, including damage to the brain, kidneys, and nervous system, especially in young children and fetuses. It also can be fatal.

If you think your house may have lead paint, contact your local health department or your state or county agriculture agency, or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD. Although wiping windowsills frequently and vacuuming often can reduce some of the danger of lead dust, experts say it is vital to remove it entirely to prevent the possibility of lead poisoning. In many states, if you are aware of the presence of lead paint in a house you are renting or selling, you are required to disclose that information to potential renters and purchasers. Radon In our zeal to build airtight buildings for more efficient heating and cooling since the energy crunch of the 1970s, we've sealed ourselves into boxes where we are prey to a deadly gas known as radon. Radon is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, naturally occurring radioactive gas produced by the decay of uranium in rocks, soil, and building materials. This gas may be lurking beneath your home, your office, or your child's school and can creep inside through cracks and seams in the building. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that radon may be the second leading cause of lung cancer, ranking just after cigarette smoking.

Radon is responsible for causing anywhere from 7,000 to 30,000 of the 140,000 cases of lung cancer annually in the United States. According to a Swedish study, those at greatest risk of developing lung cancer from radon were smokers living in homes with high radon levels. Before buying a home or to check levels in your present home, test for radon by using a radon detection kit, called a "charcoal canister," available at most major hardware stores. Start with the basement, as that is closest to the ground and has more potential for seepage. The EPA recommends that all homes below the third floor be tested, as radon tends to dissipate as it moves upward. For more information about radon, contact your local chapter of the American Lung Association, or visit their Web site at . You can also call the EPA's radon hotline at 1-800-767-7236. Ask for "A Citizen's Guide to Radon." Asbestos Asbestos is a mineral fiber that has been in use since ancient times.

It was used as insulation in one quarter of all homes, hospitals, and office buildings built from 1920 to 1970. Self-contained asbestos is safe. As the fibers age, however, they disintegrate, forming a fine dust. This dust from the asbestos fibers can cause serious respiratory problems, including cancer. Children are more vulnerable to the effects of the asbestos dust because of their size. In 1973, the EPA banned the use of asbestos as insulation for schools. Sixteen years later, the ban was extended to forbid the production and sale of asbestos products by 1997. If you live in an older house or apartment building or work in an older office building, ask your local environmental control agency for an asbestos inspection. If it is discovered, do not try to remove it yourself. Have a reputable and knowledgeable technician remove it. Formaldehyde Experts estimate that most of us spend 90 percent of our time inside our homes and offices. Many of these buildings are sealed boxes with windows that either cannot open or are not open due to air conditioning and heating considerations. In essence, we breathe recycled air most of our day.

Formaldehyde is found in insulation, fiberboard, paneling, carpeting, and fabrics and is used in window treatments and upholstery. Although formaldehyde insulation is no longer used in new construction, it may be present in older homes, places of business, or schools. You probably remember the smell of formaldehyde coming from your frog specimen in high school biology class. It bothered your mucous membranes then, and it can have the same effect in its present uses. Gases from this chemical can also cause dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and other symptoms. Check with an environmental specialist especially if your surroundings contain a number of synthetic products with formaldehyde as their base. Water Quality Although it may be difficult to think of water as a potential hazard, pollution has made this situation a reality. While many travelers worry about the quality of drinking water when they venture abroad, they also need to concern themselves with the safety of drinking water at home. Our drinking water has become polluted by industrial wastes, pesticides, lead, and bacteria. ©2006 Publications International, Ltd. To remove most pollutants from your tap water, use a home water-filtering system.

A home water-filtering system can help screen out many of the pollutants in tap water, but not all of them. Bottled water isn't 100 percent safe, either. Today's Food and Drug Administration requirements only specify that bottled water be as safe as water that comes out of the tap. Don't just worry about drinking water either. Be careful about the water you swim or boat in also. Swimming in polluted water can be dangerous. You can absorb the contaminants through your skin, nose, and eyes, and some water is bound to get swallowed. Allergens More than 40 million Americans suffer from some form of allergy. For some, the allergy symptoms may be no more than a runny nose, itching eyes, or a slightly annoying skin rash, but for others, allergies can pose a serious health hazard causing unrelenting vomiting and diarrhea, severe asthma attacks that make it difficult to breathe, or hives and swelling of throat tissues. In some cases, an allergic reaction can become so severe that the person suffers from anaphylactic shock.

Although most of us with allergies will never have to deal with a life-threatening attack, the nuisance and expense of simply run-of-the-mill sniffling and itching is enough to make us take action. Because a complete cure is not in the offing, the best strategy is to minimize exposure to the offending triggers. Here are some tips on how to reduce your risk from allergens: Avoid carpeting wherever possible; instead, use wood or linoleum. Don't store things under the bed because they collect dust. Omit heavy curtains, draperies, Venetian blinds, and upholstered furniture. Keep pets out of the bedroom area; if you don't have a pet, don't get one. Do not use feather pillows; sleep without a pillow or only with the kind your doctor recommends. Vacuum your mattress often because it contains dust mites. Wash blankets and pillows every two weeks in hot water. Encase your mattress, pillow, and box spring in allergen-free plastic coverings. Keep bedrooms uncluttered to cut down on dust accumulation. Remove books from your bedroom because they attract mold spores. Eliminate houseplants and flowers because they drop pollen, and the wet potting soil invites mold.

Exercise inside when the outdoor air quality is bad or the pollen count is high. Invest in a vacuum cleaner that holds dust in a cup or airtight bag, rather than the kind that recycles air through a cloth or paper container. Keep windows closed at night. Change your heating and air-conditioning filter monthly to reduce the dust and mold accumulation. Avoid using chemical cleaning agents in aerosol containers because they are easily inhaled. Instead use natural cleaning materials such as baking soda or vinegar. See an environmental physician or allergist for possible allergy shots. If you are severely allergic to shellfish, peanut oil, corn, or other food products, make sure to read the ingredients lists on food labels carefully. Ask about the recipes and ingredients of food items that do not have labels, such as those at a restaurant or other people's homes. Remember that even smelling or touching these foods can produce an allergic reaction in some individuals. Wear a medical ID bracelet if you have a severe allergy to a food or medication. If your child has an allergy, be sure to inform teachers and camp counselors. Watch out for dyes and chemical additives such as sulfites, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates, and nitrites that may trigger allergies.

While you may have not been familiar with the toxins discussed so far, you use other toxic subtances every day. Continue reading to learn what substances can accidentally poison the members of your household.This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Neither the Editors of Consumer Guide (R), Publications International, Ltd., the author nor publisher take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider. 10 Worst Toxins in your Home The 10 most dangerous toxins in your house Thursday, January 14, 1999 By Claude Morgan Household toxins? Look no further than your kitchen cabinets. It's official: Staying home is hazardous to your health.

Toxins found in the home injured 789,000 Americans between 1992 and 1995, and new research suggests that this figure is underestimated. "Toxins in U.S. homes now account for 90 percent of all reported poisonings each year," says Ross Ann Soloway, administrator of the American Association of Poison Control Centers. That's an epidemic of hazardous living by any standard. And while these figures include everything from non-fatal aspirin overdoses to the deadly consumption of drain cleaners, they fail to include long-term exposure to toxins like lead and asbestos. To address the climbing domestic injury rates associated with household toxins, Congress and the Centers for Disease Control in 1992 created the Unintentional Injury Center to focus on the health dangers of consumer goods and modern home living. Other federal agencies are following suit. The EPA now has branches which deal with home indoor air quality, lead exposure and ubiquitous low-level toxicity, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes a pollution look-out list for first-time home buyers.

The short list of toxins under your roof may surprise you: Formaldehyde offgasses (evaporates) from cushions, particleboard and the adhesives used to manufacture most inexpensive wood-based products. Carpets and carpet cushions may also offgas formaldehyde, causing eye and upper respiratory irritation. According to the EPA, formaldehyde may even cause cancer; Radon is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, warns the Surgeon General. Radon is a natural radioactive gas that can seep into homes through cracks in the basement, the surrounding foundation and in well water. It enters the body quietly through the airways; Lead keeps epidemiologists returning to the drawing board, says Soloway, "mostly because we know more now about the adverse effects of low-level exposure." Levels once thought to be acceptable are now known contributors to learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Lead is found in paint in older houses, old plumbing and soil near highways and busy roads. It causes neurological and kidney damage, high blood pressure, disrupted blood cell production and reproductive problems; Carbon monoxide will kill an estimated 660 Americans this year.

Don't look for exhaust fumes in the attached garage; the biggest culprit is the unserviced furnace burning propane, butane or oil; Arsenic is still lacing many household pesticides and is increasingly used as a wood preservative. Low levels of inorganic arsenic "may cause lung cancer risk," according to the CDC. The Department of Health and Human Services agrees, adding arsenic compounds to the list of unknown carcinogens; Vinyl chloride is the source of "new car smell": The plastic interior of a new car offgasses this known carcinogen. Water sitting in PVC pipes overnight may also be steeping into a toxic tea. Very large exposures can lead to "vinyl chloride disease," which causes severe liver damage and ballooning of the fingertips; Hydrofluoric acid "can cause intense pain and damage to tissues and bone if the recommended gloves happen to have holes in them," says Soloway. This highly corrosive substance is the active ingredient in many household rust removers. But even the most liberal list of known toxins pales next to the order of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs comprise hundreds of natural and man-made, carbon-based agents.

They react quickly with other carbon-based compounds, and evaporate easily, making them ideal solvents. VOCs can be found in disinfectants and pesticides, too. Solvents: Benzene and methyl ethyl ketome traverse cell walls unchecked by normal cell defense. Both are known carcinogens. Cousins toluene, xylene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane and trichloroethylene make up the lion's share of the solvent market; Disinfectants: Phenols, which include biphenyl, phenolics and the preservative pentachloraphenol, are found in disinfectants, antiseptics, perfumes, mouthwashes, glues and air fresheners; Pesticides: Chlordane, aldrin, dieldrin, though all banned for nearly two decades, continue to show up airborne in older houses. Don't be a statistical figure on the CDC's tracking list: Be aware of what substances, from pesticides to cleaners, pose threats in your household. Maintain ingredient awareness.

Many poisonings still occur because of product combinations, like the ammonia-chlorine bleach reaction, which produces the deadly respiratory irritant chloramine (a problem labeling practices have not addressed). Replace toxic agents with non-toxic alternatives. Above all, educate your household to reduce risk and exposure. For practical ideas on reducing your family's risk, consult the following books: "Living Healthy in a Toxic World" by David Steinman and R. Michael Wisner (Berkeley, 1996); "Toxins A-Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards" by John Harte, Cheryl Holdren, Richard Schneider and Christine Shirley (University of California, 1991); "Home Safe Home: Protecting Yourself and Your Family from Everyday Toxics and Harmful Household Products" by Debra L. Dadd (Putnam, 1997). For more information, contact the Unintentional Injury Center, (770)488-4652.

(Claude Morgan is a freelance writer based in Maine who contributes to E, the Environmental Magazine.) Copyright 1997, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, All Rights Reserved Other Reproductive Toxins Other Reproductive Toxins In the News The Pesticide Chlorpyrifos This summer, the federal EPA announced that pesticide manufacturers have agreed to stop retail sales of the insecticide CHLORPYRIFOS. This chemical is used in numerous products, especially air and carpet sprays, as well as pet sprays, and shampoos. Commercial use of the pesticide will still be allowed when applied by licensed applicators. CHLORPYRIFOS, sold under the name of Dursban, is used world wide to control insects in homes. It has become one of the most widely used pesticides. At the current time, this chemical is not on the California list of chemicals that are known by the state to be a reproductive toxin. The agreement between the EPA and the manufacturers was developed after reports that the pesticide might be harmful to humans and animals. The pact is designed to reduce the chemical�s exposure to children and pets until the issue can be resolved.

EPA has established a panel to design a study of the reported potential chronic and neurological effects of the pesticide. Funding For Lead Abatement Since 1991, the state of California has been annually receiving about $12 million in FEES for the identification of lead contamination, screening, and treatment of children for lead poisoning. Lead is strongly linked to birth defects and brain damage in children and is officially listed as a reproductive toxin by the state. Lead is encountered most commonly in house paint which was applied to structures built in the late 1970�s and early 1980�s. In 1978, the use of lead was banned from the manufacture of household paint. However, the legislation that enabled the collection of these fees has been the subject of major litigation efforts by paint and oil companies whose products had been assessed fees through this legislatively majority-approved measure. The arguments focused on whether it was a tax as defined in the Proposition 13, the 1978 tax-cutting initiative which requires that state tax measures receive a two-thirds legislative approval vote.

The California Supreme Court has ruled during June 1997 that this measure was legally passed by the Legislature and therefore is defined as a fee on the industries that created the lead burden on society. The Pesticide Methyl Bromide Several residents of the Castroville area have submitted an appeal to the state Department of Pesticide Regulation requesting that a local farmer�s permit to use methyl bromide and other pesticides be revoked. These people live in homes located next to a strawberry farm and they claim that during the last four applications of pesticides at the neighboring farm a "gaseous-drift" has contaminated their homes. Methyl Bromide is used to kill termites in structures, as well as strawberry, tomato, and flower pests in the agriculture domain. The chemical is officially listed as a known reproductive toxin by the state of California for structural applications, but not for agricultural applications. According to the California EPA, the known effects of repeated exposure include damage to the brain, the peripheral nervous system, the respiratory system, kidneys, liver, eyes, nose, throat, lungs and skin. Methyl bromide is a direct-acting mutagen that is toxic to DNA.

Methyl bromide can also cause �treatment related, biologically significant� birth defects, including absence of gall bladder, fused spine, and decreased fetal weight. The United States annually uses approximately 40% of the total methyl bromide produced worldwide. Mexico only consumes about 1% of the world production; however, most of the methyl bromide used in Mexico is applied to stored grains. Flint isn’t alone: America has a coast-to-coast toxic crisis | Grist Flint isn’t alone: America has a coast-to-coast toxic crisis Tweet “I know if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself if my kids’ health could be at risk,” said President Obama on a recent trip to Michigan. “Up there” was Flint, a rusting industrial city in the grip of a “water crisis” brought on by a government austerity scheme. To save a couple of million dollars, that city switched its source of water from Lake Huron to the Flint River, a long-time industrial dumping ground for the toxic industries that had once made their home along its banks. Now, the city is enveloped in a public health emergency, with elevated levels of lead in its water supply and in the blood of its children.

The price tag for replacing the lead pipes that contaminated its drinking water, thanks to the corrosive toxins found in the Flint River, is now estimated at up to $1.5 billion. No one knows where that money will come from or when it will arrive. In the meantime, the cost to the children of Flint has been and will be incalculable. As little as a few specks of lead in the water children drink or in flakes of paint that come off the walls of old houses and are ingested can change the course of a life. The amount of lead dust that covers a thumbnail is enough to send a child into a coma or into convulsions leading to death. It takes less than a tenth of that amount to cause IQ loss, hearing loss, or behavioral problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the government agency responsible for tracking and protecting the nation’s health, says simply, “No safe blood lead level in children has been identified.” President Obama would have good reason to worry if his kids lived in Flint. But the city’s children are hardly the only ones threatened by this public health crisis . There’s a lead crisis for children in Baltimore, Md.

; Herculaneum, Miss .; Sebring, Ohio ; and even the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C .; and that’s just to begin a list. State reports suggest , for instance, that “18 cities in Pennsylvania and 11 in New Jersey may have an even higher share of children with dangerously elevated levels of lead than does Flint.” Today, scientists agree that there is no safe level of lead for children and at least half of American children have some of this neurotoxin in their blood . The CDC is especially concerned about the more than 500,000 American children who have substantial amounts of lead in their bodies. Over the past century, an untold number have had their IQs reduced, their school performances limited, their behaviors altered, and their neurological development undermined . From coast to coast, from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt, children have been and continue to be imperiled by a century of industrial production, commercial gluttony, and abandonment by the local, state, and federal governments that should have protected them. Unlike in Flint, the “crisis” seldom comes to public attention.

Two, three … many Flints In Flint, the origins of the current crisis lay in the history of auto giant General Motors (GM) and its rise in the middle decades of the twentieth century to the status of the world’s largest corporation. GM’s Buick plant alone once occupied “an area almost a mile and a half long and half a mile wide,” according to the Chicago Tribune, and several Chevrolet and other GM plants literally covered the waterfront of “this automotive city.” Into the Flint River went the toxic wastes of factories large and small, which once supplied batteries, paints, solders, glass, fabrics, oils, lubricating fluids, and a multitude of other materials that made up the modern car. In these plants strung out along the banks of the Flint and Saginaw rivers and their detritus lay the origins of the present public health emergency. The crisis that attracted President Obama’s attention is certainly horrifying, but the children of Flint have been poisoned in one way or another for at least 80 years. Three generations of those children living around Chevrolet Avenue in the old industrial heart of the city experienced an environment filled with heavy metal toxins that cause neurological conditions in them and cardiovascular problems in adults.

As Michael Moore documented in his film Roger and Me , GM abandoned Flint in a vain attempt to stave off financial disaster. Having sucked its people dry, the company ditched the city, leaving it to deal with a polluted hell without the means to do so. Like other industrial cities that have suffered this kind of abandonment, Flint’s population is majority African American and Latino, and has a disproportionate number of families living below the poverty line. Of its 100,000 residents, 65 percent are African American and Latino and 42 percent are mired in poverty. The president should be worried about Flint’s children and local, state, and federal authorities need to fix the pipes, sewers, and water supply of the city. Technically, this is a feasible, if expensive, proposition. It’s already clear, however, that the political will is just not there even for this one community. Gina McCarthy, the Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator, has refused to provide Flint’s residents with even a prospective timetable for replacing their pipes and making their water safe.

There is, however, a far graver problem that is even less easy to fix: the mix of racism and corporate greed that have put lead and other pollutants into millions of homes in the United States. The scores of endangered kids in Flint are just the tip of a vast, toxic iceberg. Even Baltimore , which first identified its lead poisoning epidemic in the 1930s, still faces a crisis, especially in largely African American communities, when it comes to the lead paint in its older housing stock. Just this month, Maryland’s secretary of housing, community, and development, Kenneth C. Holt, dismissed the never-ending lead crisis in Baltimore by callously suggesting that it might all be a shuck.

A mother, he said, might fake such poisoning by putting “a lead fishing weight in her child’s mouth [and] then take the child in for testing.” Such a tactic, he indicated, without any kind of proof, was aimed at making landlords “liable for providing the child with [better] housing.” Unfortunately, the attitudes of Holt and Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan have proven all too typical of the ways in which America’s civic and state leaders have tended to ignore, dismiss, or simply deny the real suffering of children, especially those who are black and Latino, when it comes to lead and other toxic chemicals. There is, in fact, a grim broader history of lead poisoning in America. It was probably the most widely dispersed environmental toxin that affected children in this country. In part, this was because, for decades during the middle of the twentieth century, it was marketed as an essential ingredient in industrial society, something without which none of us could get along comfortably. Those toxic pipes in Flint are hardly the only, or even the primary, source of danger to children left over from that era. In the 1920s, tetraethyl lead was introduced as an additive for gasoline.

It was lauded at the time as a “ gift of God ” by a representative of the Ethyl Corporation, a creation of GM, Standard Oil, and Dupont, the companies that invented, produced, and marketed the stuff. Despite warnings that this industrial toxin might pollute the planet, which it did, almost three-quarters of a century would pass before it was removed from gasoline in the United States. During that time, it spewed out of the tailpipes of hundreds of millions of cars and trucks, it tainted the soil that children played in and was tracked onto floors that toddlers touched. Banned from use in the 1980s, it still lurks in the environment today. Meanwhile, homes across the country were tainted by lead in quite a different way. Lead carbonate, a white powder, was mixed with linseed oil to create the paint that was used in the nation’s homes, hospitals, schools, and other buildings until 1978. Though its power to harm and even kill children who sucked on lead-painted windowsills, toys, cribs, and woodwork had long been known, it was only in that year that the federal government banned its use in household paints.

Hundreds of tons of the lead in paint that covered the walls of houses, apartment buildings, and workplaces across the United States remains in place almost four decades later, especially in poorer neighborhoods where millions of African American and Latino children currently live. Right now, most middle class white families feel relatively immune from the dangers of lead, although the gentrification of old neighborhoods and the renovation of old homes can still expose their children to dangerous levels of lead dust from the old paint on those walls . However, economically and politically vulnerable black and Hispanic children, many of whom inhabit dilapidated older housing, still suffer disproportionately from the devastating effects of the toxin. This is the meaning of institutional racism in action today. As with the water flowing into homes from the pipes of Flint’s water system, so the walls of its apartment complexes, not to mention those in poor neighborhoods of Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, and virtually every other older urban center in the country, continue to poison children exposed to lead-polluted dust, chips, soil, and air. Over the course of the past century, tens of millions of children have been poisoned by lead and millions more remain in danger of it today.

Add to this the risks these same children face from industrial toxins like mercury, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls (better known as PCBs) and you have an ongoing recipe for a Flint-like disaster but on a national scale. In truth, the United States has scores of “Flints” awaiting their moments. Think of them as ticking toxic time bombs — just an austerity scheme or some official’s poor decision away from a public health disaster. Given this, it’s remarkable, even in the wake of Flint, how little attention or publicity such threats receive. Not surprisingly, then, there seems to be virtually no political will to ensure that future generations of children will not suffer the same fate as those in Flint. The future of America’s toxic past A series of decisions by state and local officials turned Flint’s chronic post-industrial crisis into a total public health disaster. If clueless, corrupt, or heartless government officials get all the blame for this (and blame they do deserve), the larger point will unfortunately be missed — that there are many post-industrial Flints, many other hidden tragedies affecting America’s children that await their moments in the news.

Treat Flint as an anomaly and you condemn families nationwide to bear the damage to their children alone, abandoned by a society unwilling to invest in cleaning up a century of industrial pollution, or even to acknowledge the injustice involved. Flint may be years away from a solution to its current crisis, but in a few cities elsewhere in the country there is at least a modicum of hope when it comes to developing ways to begin to address this country’s poisonous past. In California, for example, 10 cities and counties, including San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oakland, have successfully sued and won an initial judgment against three lead pigment manufacturers for $1.15 billion. That money will be invested in removing lead paint from the walls of homes in these cities. If this judgment is upheld on appeal , it would be an unprecedented and pathbreaking victory, since it would force a polluting industry to clean up the mess it created and from which it profited. There have been other partial victories, too.

In Herculaneum, Miss., for instance, where half the children within a mile of the nation’s largest lead smelter suffered lead poisoning, jurors returned a $320 million verdict against Fluor Corporation, one of the world’s largest construction and engineering firms. That verdict is also on appeal, while the company has moved its smelter to Peru where whole new populations are undoubtedly being poisoned . President Obama hit the nail on the head with his recent comments on Flint, but he also missed the larger point. There he was just a few dozen miles from that city’s damaged water system when he spoke in Detroit, another symbol of corporate abandonment with its own grim toxic legacy. Thousands of homes in the Motor City, the former capital of the auto industry, are still lead paint disaster areas. Perhaps it’s time to widen the canvas when it comes to the poisoning of America’s children and face the terrible human toll caused by “the American century.” Sources of Lead Sources of Lead You are Here: Home Page > Lead > Sources of Lead Sources of Lead Lead can be found in many products and locations. Some you might never have thought of, including some imported candies, toys, and traditional medicines. The most common cause of lead poisoning is dust and chips from old paint.

However, some non-paint sources, though less common, can cause severe cases of lead poisoning. Table of Contents Consumer Products Paint Lead was used in paint to add color, improve the ability of the paint to hide the surface it covers, and to make it last longer. In 1978 the federal government banned lead paint for use in homes. Homes built before 1978 probably contain lead-based paint. Painted toys and furniture made before 1978 may also contain lead-based paint. Lead-based paint becomes a concern when it chips, turns into dust, or gets into the soil. Dust Lead dust is the most common way that people are exposed to lead. Inside the home, most lead dust comes from chipping and flaking paint or when paint is scraped, sanded, or disturbed during home remodeling. Chipping and peeling paint is found mostly on surfaces that rub or bump up against another surface. These surfaces include doors and windows. Young children usually get exposed to lead when they put something with lead dust on it into their mouths. Lead dust may not be visible to the naked eye.

Soil Starting in 1973, the federal government started a gradual phase-down of lead content in gasoline, and by 1996, banned the sale completely. However, lead from car exhausts mixed with soil near roads and is still there today. Homes near busy streets may have higher levels of lead in the soil. Today, lead still comes from metal smelting, battery manufacturing, and other factories that use lead. This lead gets into the air and then mixes with the soil near homes, especially if the home is near one of these sources. Flaking lead-based paint on the outside of buildings can also mix with the soil close to buildings. Lead-based paint mixing with soil is a problem during home remodeling if workers are not careful. Once the soil has lead in it, wind can stir up lead dust, and blow it into homes and yards. Drinking Water Lead seldom occurs naturally in water supplies like rivers and lakes. Lead enters drinking water primarily as a result of the corrosion, or wearing away, of materials containing lead in the water distribution system and household or building plumbing.

These materials include lead-based solder used to join copper pipe, brass and chrome plated brass faucets, and in some cases, pipes made of lead that connect houses and buildings to water mains. In 1986, Congress banned the use of lead solder containing greater than 0.2% lead, and restricted the lead content of faucets, pipes and other plumbing materials to 8.0%. Older construction may still have plumbing that has the potential to contribute lead to drinking water. Air Lead can be present in outdoor and indoor air. Lead in outdoor air comes mainly from industrial sources (e.g., smelters, waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers). Wind-blown soil and road dust also may contain naturally occurring lead as well as lead from industrial sources, deteriorated paint, and the combustion of leaded gasoline and aviation fuel. Sources of lead in indoor air include outdoor air, suspended dust, and some hobbies (e.g., making stained glass objects using lead solder, shooting using lead bullets at indoor firing ranges). Folk medicines, ayurvedics and cosmetics Some folk medicines contain lead. They often are imported from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, India, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico.

Two examples are Greta and Azarcon. Azarcon is a bright orange powder also known as Maria Luisa, Rueda, Alarcon, and Coral. Greta is a yellow powder. They are used to treat an upset stomach. Pay-loo-ah also contains lead. It is a red powder used to treat a rash or a fever. Other folk medicines that contain lead include Bala (or Bala Goli), Golf, Ghasard, and Kandu. Some cosmetics such as Kohl (Alkohl) and Surma also contain lead. Ayurveda is a traditional form of medicine practiced in India and other eastern Asian countries. Ayurvedic medications may contain herbs, minerals, metals, or animal products. These medicines may come in both standardized and non-standardized formulations. Ayurvedic medications are typically imported into the United States by both practitioners and followers of Ayurvedic medicine. Children's jewelry and toys Lead has been found in inexpensive children's jewelry sold in vending machines and large volume discount stores across the country. It also has been found in inexpensive metal amulets worn for good luck or protection. Some costume jewelry designed for adults has also been found to contain lead.

It is important to make sure that children don't handle or mouth any jewelry. The workplace and hobbies People exposed to lead at work may bring lead home on their clothes, shoes, hair, or skin. Some jobs that expose people to lead include: home improvement; painting and refinishing; car or radiator repair; plumbing; construction; welding and cutting; electronics; municipal waste incineration; lead compound manufacturing; manufacturing of rubber products, batteries, and plastics; lead smelting and refining; working in brass or bronze foundries; demolition; and working with scrap metal. Some hobbies also use lead. These hobbies include making pottery, stained glass, or refinishing furniture. Hunters who make their own bullets or anglers who make their own fishing sinkers can be exposed to lead fumes if they don't follow good practices (see Fishing tackle (especially sinkers and jig heads) often contains lead. It important to keep all lead objects away from children. Wash hands with soap and water after holding or using lead sinkers and jig heads or reloading lead bullets or shot. Never bite down on lead sinkers.

Lead-glazed ceramics, china, leaded crystal, pewter Lead may get into foods or liquids that have been stored in ceramics, pottery, china, or crystal with lead in it. Lead-glazed dishes usually come from other countries. Imported candies or foods, especially from Mexico, containing chili or tamarind Lead can be found in candy, wrappers, pottery containers, and in certain ethnic foods, such as chapulines (dried grasshoppers). Imported food in cans that are sealed with lead solder In 1995 the United States banned the use of lead solder on cans. But lead solder can still be found on cans made in other countries. These cans usually have wide seams, and the silver-gray solder along the seams contains the lead. Cans containing lead may be brought to the United States and sold. Over time the lead gets into the food. This happens faster after the can has been opened. Foods that are acidic cause lead to get into the food faster. Firearms with lead bullets People can also be exposed to lead by eating venison and small game harvested with lead shot and lead bullets. Recent research indicates that small lead fragments are often present in venison from deer harvested with lead bullets.

Some bullets shatter into small pieces that can be too small to detect by sight, feel, or when chewing the meat. People can also be exposed to lead when it is released into the air when a gun is fired particularly in indoor shooting ranges. Lead particles are also formed as the lead bullet spirals through the barrel. These particles of lead can get into your body when you breathe or swallow, and lead dust can get on your food, cigarettes, or other items that you eat, drink, or put in your mouth. Mini-blinds It’s Not Just Flint. There’s an Ugly History of Lead Poisoning and the Poor in the US. | Mother Jones It’s Not Just Flint. There’s an Ugly History of Lead Poisoning and the Poor in the US. It’s Not Just Flint. There’s an Ugly History of Lead Poisoning and the Poor in the US. Endangered kids in Flint are just the tip of a vast, toxic iceberg. Genetha Campbell picks up water from a Flint church. Paul Sancya/AP This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.

"I know if I was a parent up there, I would be beside myself if my kids’ health could be at risk," said President Obama on a recent trip to Michigan. "Up there" was Flint, a rusting industrial city in the grip of a "water crisis" brought on by a government austerity scheme. To save a couple of million dollars, that city switched its source of water from Lake Huron to the Flint River, a long-time industrial dumping ground for the toxic industries that had once made their home along its banks. Now, the city is enveloped in a public health emergency, with elevated levels of lead in its water supply and in the blood of its children. The price tag for replacing the lead pipes that contaminated its drinking water, thanks to the corrosive toxins found in the Flint River, is now estimated at up to $1.5 billion. No one knows where that money will come from or when it will arrive. In the meantime, the cost to the children of Flint has been and will be incalculable. As little as a few specks of lead in the water children drink or in flakes of paint that come off the walls of old houses and are ingested can change the course of a life.

The amount of lead dust that covers a thumbnail is enough to send a child into a coma or into convulsions leading to death. It takes less than a tenth of that amount to cause IQ loss, hearing loss, or behavioral problems like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the government agency responsible for tracking and protecting the nation's health, says simply, "No safe blood lead level in children has been identified." President Obama would have good reason to worry if his kids lived in Flint. But the city's children are hardly the only ones threatened by this public health crisis . There's a lead crisis for children in Baltimore, Maryland , Herculaneum, Missouri , Sebring, Ohio , and even the nation's capital, Washington, DC , and that's just to begin a list. State reports suggest , for instance, that "18 cities in Pennsylvania and 11 in New Jersey may have an even higher share of children with dangerously elevated levels of lead than does Flint." Today, scientists agree that there is no safe level of lead for children and at least half of American children have some of this neurotoxin in their blood .

The CDC is especially concerned about the more than 500,000 American children who have substantial amounts of lead in their bodies. Over the past century, an untold number have had their IQs reduced, their school performances limited, their behaviors altered, and their neurological development undermined . From coast to coast, from the Sun Belt to the Rust Belt, children have been and continue to be imperiled by a century of industrial production, commercial gluttony, and abandonment by the local, state, and federal governments that should have protected them. Unlike in Flint, the "crisis" seldom comes to public attention. Two, Three... Many Flints In Flint, the origins of the current crisis lay in the history of auto giant General Motors (GM) and its rise in the middle decades of the twentieth century to the status of the world's largest corporation.

GM's Buick plant alone once occupied "an area almost a mile and a half long and half a mile wide," according to the Chicago Tribune, and several Chevrolet and other GM plants literally covered the waterfront of "this automotive city." Into the Flint River went the toxic wastes of factories large and small, which once supplied batteries, paints, solders, glass, fabrics, oils, lubricating fluids, and a multitude of other materials that made up the modern car. In these plants strung out along the banks of the Flint and Saginaw rivers and their detritus lay the origins of the present public health emergency. The crisis that attracted President Obama's attention is certainly horrifying, but the children of Flint have been poisoned in one way or another for at least 80 years. Three generations of those children living around Chevrolet Avenue in the old industrial heart of the city experienced an environment filled with heavy metal toxins that cause neurological conditions in them and cardiovascular problems in adults. As Michael Moore documented in his film Roger and Me , GM abandoned Flint in a vain attempt to stave off financial disaster. Having sucked its people dry, the company ditched the city, leaving it to deal with a polluted hell without the means to do so.

Like other industrial cities that have suffered this kind of abandonment, Flint's population is majority African American and Latino, and has a disproportionate number of families living below the poverty line. Of its 100,000 residents, 65 percent are African American and Latino and 42 percent are mired in poverty. The president should be worried about Flint's children and local, state, and federal authorities need to fix the pipes, sewers, and water supply of the city. Technically, this is a feasible, if expensive, proposition. It's already clear, however, that the political will is just not there even for this one community. Gina McCarthy, the Environmental Protection Agency's administrator, has refused to provide Flint's residents with even a prospective timetable for replacing their pipes and making their water safe. There is, however, a far graver problem that is even less easy to fix: the mix of racism and corporate greed that have put lead and other pollutants into millions of homes in the United States. The scores of endangered kids in Flint are just the tip of a vast, toxic iceberg.

Even Baltimore , which first identified its lead poisoning epidemic in the 1930s, still faces a crisis, especially in largely African American communities, when it comes to the lead paint in its older housing stock. Just this month, Maryland's secretary of housing, community, and development, Kenneth C. Holt, dismissed the never-ending lead crisis in Baltimore by callously suggesting that it might all be a shuck. A mother, he said, might fake such poisoning by putting "a lead fishing weight in her child's mouth [and] then take the child in for testing." Such a tactic, he indicated, without any kind of proof, was aimed at making landlords "liable for providing the child with [better] housing." Unfortunately, the attitudes of Holt and Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan have proven all too typical of the ways in which America's civic and state leaders have tended to ignore, dismiss, or simply deny the real suffering of children, especially those who are black and Latino, when it comes to lead and other toxic chemicals. There is, in fact, a grim broader history of lead poisoning in America. It was probably the most widely dispersed environmental toxin that affected children in this country.

In part, this was because, for decades during the middle of the twentieth century, it was marketed as an essential ingredient in industrial society, something without which none of us could get along comfortably. Those toxic pipes in Flint are hardly the only, or even the primary, source of danger to children left over from that era. In the 1920s, tetraethyl lead was introduced as an additive for gasoline. It was lauded at the time as a " gift of God " by a representative of the Ethyl Corporation, a creation of GM, Standard Oil, and Dupont, the companies that invented, produced, and marketed the stuff. Despite warnings that this industrial toxin might pollute the planet, which it did, almost three-quarters of a century would pass before it was removed from gasoline in the United States. During that time, spewed out of the tailpipes of hundreds of millions of cars and trucks, it tainted the soil that children played in and was tracked onto floors that toddlers touched. Banned from use in the 1980s, it still lurks in the environment today. Meanwhile, homes across the country were tainted by lead in quite a different way.

Lead carbonate, a white powder, was mixed with linseed oil to create the paint that was used in the nation's homes, hospitals, schools, and other buildings until 1978. Though its power to harm and even kill children who sucked on lead-painted windowsills, toys, cribs, and woodwork had long been known, it was only in that year that the federal government banned its use in household paints. Hundreds of tons of the lead in paint that covered the walls of houses, apartment buildings, and workplaces across the United States remains in place almost four decades later, especially in poorer neighborhoods where millions of African American and Latino children currently live. Right now, most middle class white families feel relatively immune from the dangers of lead, although the gentrification of old neighborhoods and the renovation of old homes can still expose their children to dangerous levels of lead dust from the old paint on those walls. However, economically and politically vulnerable black and Hispanic children, many of whom inhabit dilapidated older housing, still suffer disproportionately from the devastating effects of the toxin. This is the meaning of institutional racism in action today.

As with the water flowing into homes from the pipes of Flint's water system, so the walls of its apartment complexes, not to mention those in poor neighborhoods of Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, and virtually every other older urban center in the country, continue to poison children exposed to lead-polluted dust, chips, soil, and air. Over the course of the past century, tens of millions of children have been poisoned by lead and millions more remain in danger of it today. Add to this the risks these same children face from industrial toxins like mercury, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls (better known as PCBs) and you have an ongoing recipe for a Flint-like disaster but on a national scale. In truth, the United States has scores of "Flints" awaiting their moments. Think of them as ticking toxic time bombs — just an austerity scheme or some official's poor decision away from a public health disaster. Given this, it's remarkable, even in the wake of Flint, how little attention or publicity such threats receive. Not surprisingly, then, there seems to be virtually no political will to ensure that future generations of children will not suffer the same fate as those in Flint.

The Future of America’s Toxic Past A series of decisions by state and local officials turned Flint's chronic post-industrial crisis into a total public health disaster. If clueless, corrupt, or heartless government officials get all the blame for this (and blame they do deserve), the larger point will unfortunately be missed — that there are many post-industrial Flints, many other hidden tragedies affecting America's children that await their moments in the news. Treat Flint as an anomaly and you condemn families nationwide to bear the damage to their children alone, abandoned by a society unwilling to invest in cleaning up a century of industrial pollution, or even to acknowledge the injustice involved. Flint may be years away from a solution to its current crisis, but in a few cities elsewhere in the country there is at least a modicum of hope when it comes to developing ways to begin to address this country's poisonous past. In California, for example, 10 cities and counties, including San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Oakland, have successfully sued and won an initial judgment against three lead pigment manufacturers for $1.15 billion. That money will be invested in removing lead paint from the walls of homes in these cities.

If this judgment is upheld on appeal , it would be an unprecedented and pathbreaking victory, since it would force a polluting industry to clean up the mess it created and from which it profited. There have been other partial victories, too. In Herculaneum, Missouri, for instance, where half the children within a mile of the nation's largest lead smelter suffered lead poisoning, jurors returned a $320 million verdict against Fluor Corporation, one of the world's largest construction and engineering firms. That verdict is also on appeal, while the company has moved its smelter to Peru where whole new populations are undoubtedly being poisoned . President Obama hit the nail on the head with his recent comments on Flint, but he also missed the larger point. There he was just a few dozen miles from that city's damaged water system when he spoke in Detroit, another symbol of corporate abandonment with its own grim toxic legacy. Thousands of homes in the Motor City, the former capital of the auto industry, are still lead paint disaster areas.

Perhaps it's time to widen the canvas when it comes to the poisoning of America's children and face the terrible human toll caused by "the American century." David Rosner and Gerald Markowitz, TomDispatch regulars, are co-authors and co-editors of seven books and 85 articles on a variety of industrial and occupational hazards, including Deceit and Denial: The Deadly Politics of Industrial Pollution and, most recently, Lead Wars: The Politics of Science and the Fate of America's Children. Rosner is a professor of sociomedical sciences and history at Columbia University and co-director of the Center for the History of Public Health at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health. Markowitz is a professor of history at John Jay College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Both have been awarded a certificate of appreciation by the United States Senate through the office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who has recognized the importance of their work on lead and industrial poisoning. Get the scoop, straight from Mother Jones. Symptoms and causes - Lead poisoning - Mayo Clinic Symptoms and causes Print Symptoms Initially, lead poisoning can be hard to detect — even people who seem healthy can have high blood levels of lead.

Signs and symptoms usually don't appear until dangerous amounts have accumulated. Lead poisoning symptoms in children Signs and symptoms of lead poisoning in children include: Developmental delay Eating things, such as paint chips, that aren't food (pica) Lead poisoning symptoms in newborns Babies exposed to lead before birth might: Be born prematurely Have slowed growth Lead poisoning symptoms in adults Although children are primarily at risk, lead poisoning is also dangerous for adults. Signs and symptoms in adults might include: High blood pressure Difficulties with memory or concentration Headache Reduced sperm count and abnormal sperm Miscarriage, stillbirth or premature birth in pregnant women Causes Lead is a metal that occurs naturally in the earth's crust, but human activity — mining, burning fossil fuels and manufacturing — has caused it to become more widespread. Lead was also once used in paint and gasoline and is still used in batteries, solder, pipes, pottery, roofing materials and some cosmetics. Lead in paint Lead-based paints for homes, children's toys and household furniture have been banned in the United States since 1978. But lead-based paint is still on walls and woodwork in many older homes and apartments. Most lead poisoning in children results from eating chips of deteriorating lead-based paint.

Water pipes and imported canned goods Lead pipes, brass plumbing fixtures and copper pipes soldered with lead can release lead particles into tap water. Lead solder in food cans, banned in the United States, is still used in some countries. Other sources of lead exposure Lead sometimes can also be found in: Soil. Lead particles from leaded gasoline or paint settle on soil and can last years. Lead-contaminated soil is still a major problem around highways and in some urban settings. Some soil close to walls of older houses contains lead. Household dust. Household dust can contain lead from lead paint chips or from contaminated soil brought in from outside. Pottery. Glazes found on some ceramics, china and porcelain can contain lead that can leach into food served or stored in the pottery. Toys. Lead is sometimes found in toys and other products produced abroad. Cosmetics. Tiro, an eye cosmetic from Nigeria, has been linked to lead poisoning. Herbal or folk remedies. Lead poisoning has been linked to greta and azarcon, traditional Hispanic medicines, as well as some from India, China and other countries. Mexican candy. Tamarind, an ingredient used in some candies made in Mexico, might contain lead. Lead bullets.

Time spent at firing ranges can lead to exposure. Occupations. People are exposed to lead and can bring it home on their clothes when they work in auto repair, mining, pipe fitting, battery manufacturing, painting, construction and certain other fields. Risk factors Factors that may increase your risk of lead poisoning include: Age. Infants and young children are more likely to be exposed to lead than are older children. They might chew paint that flakes off walls and woodwork, and their hands can be contaminated with lead dust. Young children also absorb lead more easily, and it's more harmful for them than it is for adults and older children. Living in an older home. Although the use of lead-based paints has been banned since the 1970s, older homes and buildings often retain remnants of this paint. People renovating an older home are at even higher risk. Certain hobbies. Making stained glass and some jewelry requires the use of lead solder. Refinishing old furniture might put you in contact with layers of lead paint. Living in developing countries. Developing countries often have less strict rules regarding exposure to lead than do developed countries. American families who adopt a child from another country might want to have the child's blood tested for lead poisoning.

Immigrant and refugee children also should be tested. Lead can harm an unborn child, so pregnant women or women likely to become pregnant should be especially careful to avoid exposure to lead. Complications Exposure to even low levels of lead can cause damage over time, especially in children. The greatest risk is to brain development, where irreversible damage can occur. Higher levels can damage the kidneys and nervous system in both children and adults. Very high lead levels may cause seizures, unconsciousness and death. Lowry JA. Childhood lead poisoning: Clinical manifestations and diagnosis. Accessed Sept. 17, 2016. Lead: Prevention tips. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed Sept. 21, 2016. AskMayoExpert. Chelation therapy. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2016. Lowry JA. Childhood lead poisoning: Management. Accessed Sept. 17, 2016. AAP Council on Environmental Health. Prevention of childhood lead toxicity. Pediatrics. 2016;138:e20161493. Lead poisoning and health. World Health Organization. Accessed Sept.

17, 2016. Lead toxicity: What are the physiologic effects of lead exposure? Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Accessed Sept. 17, 2016. Goldman RH, et al. Adult occupational lead poisoning. Accessed Sept. 23, 2016. Lead: Protect your family from exposures to lead. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed Sept. 23, 2016. Related History of Lead Use - Toxipedia Toxipedia Publish this draft for everyone to see. What changed? Other users have edits for this page: Proceed Anyway Permanently discard changes to this page. This cannot be undone. History of Lead Use updated by Katarina Lah (May 08, 2011) Significant production of lead began about 3000 BC, and large mines in Spain and Greece contributed to the global atmospheric redistribution of lead. The Roman Empire was the first society to use lead widely; in fact, the word plumbing is derived from plumbum, Latin for lead, which also gave rise to the chemical symbol for lead, Pb.

Lead is slightly sweet to taste, making it a good additive for fine Roman wine that was then shipped all over Europe. Even in those times, there were reports that lead caused severe colic, anemia, and gout. Some historians believe that lead poisoning hastened the fall of the Roman Empire. (Photo: lead pipe in Roman baths.) Lead in Paint In more modern times, the durability of lead made it an excellent paint additive, but the sweetness made it tempting to young children. Childhood lead poisoning was linked to lead-based paints in 1904. Several European countries banned the use of interior lead-based paints in 1909. At one time baby cribs were painted with lead-based paint, which resulted in infant illness and death. In 1922, the League of Nations banned lead-based paint but the United States declined to adopt this rule. In 1943, a report concluded that children eating lead paint chips could suffer from neurological disorders including behavior, learning, and intelligence problems. Finally, in 1971, lead-based house paint was phased out in the United States with the passage of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act.

Homes built prior to 1978 may have lead-based paint either inside or outside, and homes and apartments built prior to 1950 are very likely to have lead-based paint both inside and outside and should be inspected carefully. This is a particularly serious problem for children living in older housing in large cities. A CDC report found that 35% of African-American children living in inner cities with more than 1 million people had blood lead levels greater that 10 μg/dL, which is the CDC action level established in 1991. In the 1990s, the EPA required that information on lead be disclosed when a home or apartment is sold or rented. In addition, specific training is required for workers removing lead from homes or apartments. Lead-based paint continues to remain a serious problem for many children. The history of the use of lead-based paint is summarized in the table below. Year Lead-based house paint banned Lead in Gasoline The addition of lead to gasoline is one of the greatest public health failures of the 20th century.

Tetraethyl lead (TEL) was discovered in 1854 by a German chemist and in 1921, Thomas Midgley of the US found that it reduces engine knock. This was a period of tremendous competition in the automobile industry and of growth in the oil, gas, and chemical industries in the United States. A year later the US Public Health Service issued a warning about the potential hazards associated with lead. In 1923 the Du Pont Corporation began the first large-scale production of TEL and the first workers died from lead exposure. The same year, leaded gasoline went on sale in selected regions of the country. During this period Du Pont acquired a 35% ownership of General Motors, and General Motors and Standard Oil formed a joint company, Ethyl Corporation, to produce TEL. In 1924 five workers died from lead poisoning at the Ethyl facility in New Jersey, although the total number of workers affected by lead exposure is unknown. In 1925 sales of TEL were suspended while the U.S. Surgeon General reviewed the safety of TEL. The next year, a committee approved the use of TEL in gasoline and sales were immediately resumed.

By 1936, 90% of the gasoline sold in the U.S. contained lead, and the Ethyl Corporation was expanding sales in Europe. In the early 1950s the U.S. Justice Department investigated anticompetitive activities associated with Du Pont, General Motors, Standard Oil, and Ethyl Corporation. Environmental concerns were highlighted in a 1965 report documenting that high levels of lead in the environment were caused by human use of lead. In 1972 the U.S. EPA gave notice of an intended phase-out of lead in gasoline and was promptly sued by the Ethyl Corporation. Four years later the EPA standards were upheld in court and in 1980 the National Academy of Sciences reported that leaded gasoline was the greatest source of environmental lead contamination. In 1979, the effects of lead on the intellectual development of children were documented in a seminal paper written by Herbert Needleman and others.

(Photo: Sign on an antique gasoline gasoline pump advertising tetraethyl lead by the Ethyl Corporation.) The fight over phasing out leaded gasoline was far from over when, in 1981, then Vice President George Bush's task force proposed to relax or eliminate the lead phase-out program. The relationship between leaded gasoline and blood lead levels was demonstrated when the EPA reported that blood lead levels declined by 37% in association with a 50% drop in the use of leaded gasoline between 1976 and 1980. Subsequent studies showed a correlation between the increase in gasoline use during the summer and a rise in blood lead levels. By 1986 the primary phase-out of lead from gasoline was completed but in some areas of the country, such as Washington State, leaded gasoline was available until 1991. The World Bank called for a ban on leaded gasoline in 1996 and the European Union banned leaded gasoline in 2000. It is estimated that 7 million tons of lead were released into the atmosphere from gasoline in the United States alone.

Occupational Exposures Occupational exposure to lead has decreased from the overt cases of death and disability in the 1930s and 1940s, but, as case studies illustrate, it continues to occur. In the past, painters using lead-based paints suffered from health problems such as wrist and foot drop or as Ben Franklin reported, the "dangles." Lead paint removal from bridges and buildings is now regulated. Radiator repair and battery recycling continue to be sources of lead exposure. Battery recycling facilities in less-developed countries are a serious source of worker lead exposure and environmental contamination. Public safety officials that train at shooting ranges using lead ammunition may be exposed to elevated levels of lead. Occupational exposure is a potential hazard not only to the adults but also to their children as the lead may be brought home on clothing. (Photo: worker ladling molten recycled lead into billets in a lead-acid battery recovery facility. Photo from NIOSH photostream .) Other Uses: Hobby Supplies, Solder, Children's Products, PVC Plastic, and More Home hobbies or businesses can also be a source of lead exposure. Lead is commonly used in painting and soldering and in making stained glass, jewelry, pottery, ammunition, or fishing sinkers.

Exposure can also occur from stripping lead-based paint from furniture or wood work. Lead-glazed pottery has caused a number lead poisonings, particularly when high-acid foods, which leach lead from the glaze, are consumed from the pottery. At one time canned foods were a significant source of lead because of poor-quality solder joints in the cans. High-acid foods, such as tomatoes, would leach lead from the cans. Finally, contamination of drinking water with lead occurs primarily from the use of lead solder joints or old fixtures, and occasionally, from the use of lead pipes. As with many metals, lead was used in a number of health remedies, some of which are still available and used by some ethnic groups. Lead continues to show up in a range of products, many destined to be used by children. Because lead is cheap and easy to use it is found in jewelry and other trinkets. These products are used and handled by children, resulting in additional lead exposure. Lead is used as a stabilizer for PVC plastics and has been found in mini-blinds for windows and in school lunch boxes. Cosmetics such as lipstick were discovered to be contaminated with lead. Recently lead-based paint has been found on children's toys.

Even candy and candy wrappers have been found to be contaminated with lead. State and national laws have been enacted to ban what seems to be obvious: the sale of children's products that contain lead. CDC - Lead - Prevention Tips Prevention Tips Reduce a child’s exposure from non-residential paint sources Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. And effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected. The goal is to prevent lead exposure to children before they are harmed. There are many ways parents can reduce a child’s exposure to lead. The most important is stopping children from coming into contact with lead. Lead hazards in a child’s environment must be identified and controlled or removed safely. How are children exposed to lead? Lead-based paint and lead contaminated dust are the most hazardous sources of lead for U.S. children. Lead-based paints were banned for use in housing in 1978. All houses built before 1978 are likely to contain some lead-based paint. However, it is the deterioration of this paint that causes a problem.

Approximately 24 million housing units have deteriorated leaded paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust. More than 4 million of these dwellings are homes to one or more young children. Who is at risk? Children under the age of 6 years old are at risk because they are growing so rapidly and because they tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths. Children living at or below the poverty line who live in older housing are at greatest risk. Additionally, children of some racial and ethnic groups and those living in older housing are disproportionately affected by lead. Top of Page What can be done to prevent exposure to lead? It is important to determine the construction year of the house or the dwelling where your child spends a large amount of time (e.g., grandparents or daycare). In housing built before 1978, assume that the paint has lead unless tests show otherwise. Talk to your state or local health department about testing paint and dust from your home for lead. Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chewable surfaces painted with lead-based paint.

Children and pregnant women should not be present in housing built before 1978 that is undergoing renovation. They should not participate in activities that disturb old paint or in cleaning up paint debris after work is completed. Create barriers between living/play areas and lead sources. Until environmental clean-up is completed, you should clean and isolate all sources of lead. Close and lock doors to keep children away from chipping or peeling paint on walls. You can also apply temporary barriers such as contact paper or duct tape, to cover holes in walls or to block children’s access to other sources of lead. Regularly wash children’s hands and toys. Hands and toys can become contaminated from household dust or exterior soil. Both are known lead sources. Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe window components. Because household dust is a major source of lead, you should wet-mop floors and wet-wipe horizontal surfaces every 2-3 weeks. Windowsills and wells can contain high levels of leaded dust. They should be kept clean. If feasible, windows should be shut to prevent abrasion of painted surfaces or opened from the top sash. Take off shoes when entering the house to prevent bringing lead-contaminated soil in from outside.

Prevent children from playing in bare soil; if possible, provide them with sandboxes. Plant grass on areas of bare soil or cover the soil with grass seed, mulch, or wood chips, if possible. Until the bare soil is covered, move play areas away from bare soil and away from the sides of the house. If you have a sandbox, cover the box when not in use to prevent cats from using it as a litter box. That will help protect children from exposure to animal waste. CPSC Announces Final Ban On Lead-Containing Paint | CPSC.gov CPSC Announces Final Ban On Lead-Containing Paint CPSC Announces Final Ban On Lead-Containing Paint FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release # 77-096 WASHINGI'ON, D.C. (Sept. 2) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has culminated a major regulatory proceeding by issuing a final ban on lead-containing paint and on toys and furniture coated with such paint. This action was taken to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in children who may ingest paint chips or peelings. Until now, the maximum level of lead allowed in consumer paints has been 0.5 percent.

CPSC has lowered this amount to 0.06 percent, a level conforming with the maximum permissible under the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act. This Act, administered primarily by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, prohibits application of lead-based paint to housing constructed or rehabilitated with federal assistance. Exempted from the new ban are mirrors backed with lead-containing paint which are part of articles of furniture, as well as artists' paints and related materials. Also exempted, provided they bear specified cautionary labeling, are certain agricultural and industrial coatings, touch-up coatings for appliances and lawn and garden equipment, graphic arts coatings, and certain coatings for powered model aircraft. This ban under the Consumer Product Safety Act will take effect 180 days after publication September 1 in the Federal Register and will apply to products manufactured on and after that date. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard.

CPSC's work to help ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals -– contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years. Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to or call CPSC's Hotline at 800-638-2772 or teletypewriter at 301-595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at on Twitter @ USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters . Media Contact

Question: What toxin was banned from household paints in the US in 1978?
Answer: Lead