I was naive to think that we wouldn’t be affected. But sure enough, it happened to us just last week. I found out that some of the toys we owned had been recalled due to the use of lead-based paint.
Lead is primarily found in paint used on homes built in 1978 or earlier, in pipes that carry water to older homes and buildings, and in soil. Deteriorating paint in a home can create a lead dust on surfaces inside the home. Lead may also be used in the pipes of older homes, therefore contaminating drinking water (never drink or cook with hot water, since it absorbs more lead than cold water. If you know your pipes might contain lead, run cold tap water for 30 seconds first before using it). Lead can also be found on certain toys and furniture painted with a lead-based paint. It is tasteless and odorless.
Lead enters the body through ingestion or inhalation. Dust particles from lead-based paints can be easily ingested, especially in young children that tend to mouth objects as well as stick their hands in their mouths regularly. Dust particles are most often inhaled when a home with lead-based paint is being renovated, although paint does not need to be damaged to produce lead containing dust. Lead cannot be absorbed through the skin. Those that live in homes built before 1978 are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning. However, even those that live in newer homes without lead paint or pipes can have blood levels of lead that are unsafe. Partially due to the use of leaded gasoline through 1986 and continual production of industrial emissions, our soil is contaminated with lead. Water supplies can also be contaminated, as can the soil vegetables are grown in, making food and water yet another source of lead. Since lead is an element, it does not degrade as organic materials do. Once it is mined from the ground and released into our environment, it remains. And once it enters our bodies, where its half-life is about one month (meaning, in one month, about half of the lead consumed still remains in the body’s tissues, and by two months, only one quarter remains), it enters our blood, soft tissue, liver, spleen, heart, kidneys, muscles, lungs, and brains, where it wrecks havoc1. Lead is also absorbed into bone, where its half life is 13 years, so lead you absorbed years ago could be released from your bone, as is often the case when blood calcium levels are low, and cause damage now2. This is especially dangerous for pregnant or nursing women.
Just over a decade ago, one in ten children in the U.S. had unsafe levels of lead in their blood. Children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning because their bodies absorb up to 50% of the lead they ingest (thanks to their higher metabolic rate), while adults only absorb about 10%. According to the CDC, the threshold for lead poisoning in children is 10 µg/dl. It only takes an amount of lead equivalent to a granule of sugar each day to raise a child’s blood level to 35 µg/dl. Low blood levels of lead can interfere with proper development, particularly of the brain. It can reduce intelligence, cause reading and learning disabilities, reduce attention span, cause behavioral problems like hyperactivity, and cause hearing loss. High blood levels, nearing 100 µg/dl, can kill2.
How does lead cause so much damage to our bodies? Since lead chemically resembles calcium, it is taken up and stored by the teeth and bones. Almost 95% of the lead in our bodies is stored in our bones. When blood levels of calcium drop, such as when your diet is low in calcium, bones can release the stored lead into the bloodstream. Once in the blood, it is distributed throughout the brain, liver, and other soft tissue organs, or in the case of pregnant women, to the unborn child. Lead interferes with the body’s ability to produce and use vitamin D, inhibits the formation of the protein heme, used by red blood cells to transport oxygen, as well as bonds to red blood cells where iron should be bound (leading to anemia)2. Lead’s most well known danger is its ability to act as a potent neurotoxin–interfering with the development of the architecture of the brain, as well as interfering with the connections between neurons, and therefore, the brain’s ability to send signals and communicate properly. Long lists of central nervous system problems have been linked to lead, including sleep problems, depression, hyperactivity, aggression, impairments in hearing, balance, and learning, increased impulsivity, and decreased self-control1.
If you suspect that you or your children are exposed to high levels of lead, ask your doctor to perform a blood test. If you live in an home built before 1978, or spend a significant amount of time in one, request a blood test. Even if you don’t know your blood level of lead, it is wise to take precautions to avoid lead exposure. Clearly, if you have any toys or children’s items known to be painted with a lead-based paint, remove them immediately. Be aware that lead can be added to paints and plastics (as a pigment or stabilizer) and make wise choices about the toys and jewelry you purchase. Be especially concerned about any toys your children mouth. Vacuum your home regularly with a vacuum that contains a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter. If you have hard-wood floors, wet mop them regularly (dry mopping or sweeping merely pushes lead-containing dust around). Remove your shoes before entering your home. Wash your hands, and especially those of your children, every time you’ve spent time outside or worked in the yard. If you live in a home built before 1978, have everyone in the home wash their hands as frequently as possible, but especially before eating or cooking. Never drink or cook with hot tap water and if you know the pipes in your home or workplace may contain lead, run cool water for 30 seconds before consuming it. Eat a balanced diet–if your diet is inadequate in iron, calcium, vitamin C, or zinc, you will absorb more of the lead you ingest. And last but not least, keep yourself informed about the latest lead information, whether it be that lead is an unlisted ingredient in lipstick, or that you can voice your dissatisfaction with what our government allows us to import, including toys containing lead (a great site for information about lead-painted imports is Made (Deadly) in China).
Sites worth visiting:
http://www.madedeadlyinchina.com/
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html
1. Kessel, Irene, and John T. O’Conner. Getting the Lead Out. New York: Plenum Trade, 1997.
2. Stapleton, Richard M. Lead is a Silent Hazard. Walker Publishing Co, 1994.
