Lead Exposure and Our Health

Found in paints, cosmetics, fuel, batteries, and toys, lead is one of the most used toxic metals in the world. Today, industries that use lead in manufacturing continually emit it into our air and soil.

In 2007 lead exposure accounted for over one million deaths worldwide. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimated that in 2016 lead exposure across the globe accounted for about 63% of idiopathic developmental intellectual disability, 10% of hypertensive heart disease, nearly 6% of ischemic heart disease, and 6% of stroke.

Once ingested, lead particles bind to proteins and travel into tissues and organs, where they can cause oxidative damage to cells and tissues. A 2018 study showed that lead exposure results in DNA damage, decreasing cell viability, increasing oxidative stress, and decreasing the expression of DNA repair genes.

The connection between lead exposure and cardiovascular disease has been well noted in scientific literature. A 2018 study published in The Lancet Public Health suggests that of the 2.3 million deaths every year in the United States, about 400,000 are attributable to lead exposure, of which 250,000 (more than 60%) are from cardiovascular disease. Lead exposure is also associated with increased peripheral arterial disease, kidney damage, as well as respiratory, neurologic, digestive, and urinary diseases.

Children are particularly vulnerable to lead toxicity. They absorb four to five times the amount of lead as adults from a given source but are often asymptomatic. Approximately 500,000 children in the US under the age of six have blood lead levels (BLLs) higher than the level at which public health action is recommended. A 2019 study showed high childhood BLL was significantly associated with abnormal psychiatric symptoms. Childhood lead exposure is associated with lower IQs and markers of academic achievement.

There is no identified “safe” blood lead level. According to a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives, current baseline blood levels constitute a global public health risk.