Lead poisoning
Child; lead; poison; poisoning; paint; pencil ;
Contents
Lead is a metal which is found in many products and many places where people live and travel and work. If lead gets into the body it can cause many long term health problems.
Who is at risk from lead?
Lead can affect the health of anybody, but some people are more at risk that others.
- Pregnant women and unborn children, and children under four years are at a very high risk if they are exposed to lead.
- If a woman has a lot of lead in her body, and if she does not have enough calcium, iron or zinc in her diet, she can pass lead to her unborn child, and also pass on lead when she breast feeds.
- Young children can be more affected by lead than older children or adults because:
- Their brain and nervous system are still developing
- They absorb (take in) more lead if it is swallowed than adults do.
- Normal behaviours of young children (crawling, putting their hands and other objects into their mouths) means they are more likely to swallow lead if it is around in dust or in paint in their homes.
- Children tend to chew on things that are around them, and some children have got high levels of lead from, for example, chewing on the bars of old cots which had lead in the paint on them.
How can you get lead poisoning?
- In nearly all admissions of children to hospital in Australia for treatment of lead poisoning the lead came from dust or paint flakes made during home renovations. (Pets can also get lead poisoning).
- Paint that has been around for a while might have lead in it, eg old houses, old cots, old toys.
- Children living near a lead smelter are at a high risk of exposure.
- Soils containing high lead levels can present a risk and may need to be removed or covered.
- Other people at risk are workers in some industries and home renovators. Nearly all paint used before 1970 and some paints used after then contained lead. The house paint bought now has only a very small amount of lead or no lead in it. Some industrial paints still have lead in them and precautions need to be taken to protect the health of workers.
- People living near main roads were at a fairly high risk but since the introduction of unleaded petrol in Australia in 1986, this risk has gone down.
- Young people who sniff petrol used to be at a very high risk of lead poisoning. Petrol sniffing is still a high risk activity, but lead poisoning is no longer the major problem.
- In Australia the risk of getting lead in food or water is now low, but lead may be in food or water which has been in stored in lead glazed pots, leaded crystal, tins with lead solder (not permitted in Australia) and pewter.
- Lead can also get into water from lead flashing on roofs and lead dust on the roof.
- Old taps and water pipes may have lead in them too, so if you have an old house it is a good idea to let the water run for a little while in the morning, before drinking the water.
- Lead weights are still used for fishing and some children have been poisoned when they have swallowed a weight.
- Food grown, made or sold in Australia generally has very low lead levels.
Health problems from lead
- High levels of lead in children under 4 years have been shown to contribute to learning problems, slowed growth (especially of the brain), poor hearing and some behaviour problems.
- High lead levels in a pregnant woman can lead to poor growth of the unborn baby, and sometimes a miscarriage.
- In older children and adults, lead can cause many symptoms including muscle pains, fatigue, irritability, abdominal (tummy) pains and if it is at a very high level it can cause paralysis, coma and death.
Testing for lead poisoning
- A blood test can be done if it seems likely that the person (child or adult) is at risk of high lead levels.
Treatment for lead poisoning
- The National Health and Medical Research Council (of Australia) has recommended that if the blood lead level is high for adults and children, that their environment is carefully checked for the source of the lead, and that the source be eliminated and the blood level be rechecked several months later.
- If the level is particularly high, and there are signs that the person has problems due to lead, treatment, called 'chelation', in hospital may be needed.
Protecting your child and your family from lead
The best way to protect children and other family members from lead is to keep them away from lead.
- Move children's furniture (such as cots and high chairs) away from surfaces than may contain lead (eg old door frames and doors).
- Do not use old painted furniture (which they might chew) or have the paint completely stripped and new paint used.
- Make sure that their hands are washed before they eat or have a sleep.
- Move children and pregnant women out of the house when renovating.
- Don't use blowtorches or sanders on lead based paint. Paint can be tested for lead content using kits available in hardware stores.
- Make sure all dust made during a renovation is removed (eg remove carpets and wet dust all surfaces), and also protect yourself during the renovation using face masks and coveralls.
- Soil contaminated by lead dust may need to be removed.
Lead pencils
- There is no lead in "lead" pencils.
- The part of a "lead" pencil that causes a mark is made of graphite, which is a form of carbon and does not cause any health problems.
- "Lead" pencils have to be totally safe since children have been sucking them and sticking them into their skin, and the skin of other people, for over 130 years.
Resources
Much more information about protection from lead in the environment and the effects of lead is available from the website of the Lead Group
http://www.lead.org.au/index.html
For more information about other poisons in the environment go to the National Library of Medicine (USA) ''Tox Town'' site
http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov (Note: Go to "text version" if you do not have Flash)
Tenby10 is a project that has been undertaken in Pt Pirie, South Australia to reduce lead levels in children living near a lead smelter.
http://www.tenby10.com.au/Home.aspx
References
"History of the Lead Pencil" - web site Early Office Museum
http://www.officemuseum.com
Lanphear BP 'Childhood lead poisoning prevention' JAMA May 11, 2005, pp 2274-2276
http://jama.ama-assn.org/
Reith D M, O'Regan P, Bailey C, Acworth J. "Serious lead poisoning in childhood: still a problem after a century". Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health (2003) 39, 623-6.
The information on this site should not be used as an alternative to professional care. If you have a particular problem, see a doctor, or ring the Parent Helpline on 1300 364 100 (local call cost from anywhere in South Australia).
This topic may use 'he' and 'she' in turn - please change to suit your
child's sex.