Lead

Abstract

Lead is an important industrial commodity that has numerous adverse health effects, even at relatively low levels of exposure. The mining of lead‐containing ores began in antiquity and was used in coins, weights, ornaments, cosmetics, utensils, ceramic glazes, solder, paints, gasoline, conduits for drinking water, and others. Although descriptions of the toxic effects of lead appeared very early in history, the association between the use of lead in industry, construction, and commerce and health effects was very slow to evolve. Insights into mechanisms of lead toxicity did not appear until the twentieth century. The correlation between pathological and clinical and sub‐clinical effects of lead on organ systems and routes of exposure in both the workplace and the community are reviewed. There continues to be an extensive body of new scientific literature to this day regarding the effects of lead, which allows for more precise interpretation of relationships between exposure and effect, especially “low level” lead exposures in both children and adults. The best treatment is the prevention of exposure. The objective of this chapter is to integrate the emerging scientific advances in the toxicology of lead with the occurrence and recognition of both clinical and more subtle subclinical effects. A list of current publications regarding health criteria and protective regulatory and guidance measures for exposure to lead in both the occupational setting and the community (with a focus on children) are provided.