Lead Poisoning: Historical Aspects of a Paradigmatic “Occupational and Environmental Disease”

Riva, Michele Augusto; Lafranconi, Alessandra; D’Orso, M; Cesana, Giancarlo

doi:10.5491/shaw.2012.3.1.11

Cited by 70 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Lead poisoning can be fatal, and small levels also can lead to intellectual and neurological defects in infants and young children. It is believed that lead poisoning was the major reason for the fall of the Roman Empire because in ancient Rome, water pipes were made of lead (3). Ingesting antimony-contaminated water can lead to an increase in blood pressure, heart ailments, and ulcers.…”

Section: Pollutantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clean Water for Developing Countries

Pandit

Kumar

2015

Annu. Rev. Chem. Biomol. Eng.

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Availability of safe drinking water, a vital natural resource, is still a distant dream to many around the world, especially in developing countries. Increasing human activity and industrialization have led to a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological pollutants entering water bodies and affecting human lives. Efforts to develop efficient, economical, and technologically sound methods to produce clean water for developing countries have increased worldwide. We focus on solar disinfection, filtration, hybrid filtration methods, treatment of harvested rainwater, herbal water disinfection, and arsenic removal technologies. Simple, yet innovative water treatment devices ranging from use of plant xylem as filters, terafilters, and hand pumps to tippy taps designed indigenously are methods mentioned here. By describing the technical aspects of major water disinfection methods relevant for developing countries on medium to small scales and emphasizing their merits, demerits, economics, and scalability, we highlight the current scenario and pave the way for further research and development and scaling up of these processes. This review focuses on clean drinking water, especially for rural populations in developing countries. It describes various water disinfection techniques that are not only economically viable and energy efficient but also employ simple methodologies that are effective in reducing the physical, chemical, and biological pollutants found in drinking water to acceptable limits.

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Section: Pollutantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clean Water for Developing Countries

Pandit

Kumar

2015

Annu. Rev. Chem. Biomol. Eng.

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“…These days, lead poisoning is rarely seen in developed countries. Conversely, lead intoxication from different nonoccupational sources is still being observed elsewhere (Riva et al, 2012). Chronic lead poisoning was seen in miners and workers during the industrial revolution as a result of poor safety legislation.…”

Section: Modern Era/industrial Revolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the effects of lead have also been widely documented; the earliest material written on lead toxicity have been found in Egyptian papyrus scrolls (Hernberg, 2000). In the 2nd century BC, Nicander, a Greek physician-poet, was the first to describe lead palsy (Retief & Cillier, 2006 ) but he did not relate the palsy to lead exposure (Hernberg, 2000;Riva et al, 2012). The connection between the two was not realised until the 1st century AD, by Dioscorides, a Greek physician (Hernberg, 2000).…”

Section: Pre-industrialised Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Riva et. al. have reported that in the early 20th century lead poisoning was also seen among painters who worked with leaded paints (Riva, Lafranconi, D'Orso, & Cesana, 2012). In the 21st century different cases of non-occupational lead poisoning have continued to be reported in children and adults, resulting from for instance use of Chinese medicine as well as other reasons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lead Poisoning and Measurement of Body Burdens of Lead: A Perspective

Daar

Bradley

2015

IJFPS

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The measurement of lead in archaeological bone forms the basis for providing insight into ancient societies, including disease, lifestyle and eating habits. It is sometimes asserted that in the 5th century AD lead toxicity played a key role in the eventual fall of the western Roman Empire. Others view the effect of lead exposure at that time to be less significant. The debate concerns the idea that clinical lead poisoning mainly affected the aristocratic population and caused a strong reduction in fertility and reproduction .Choosing bone over soft tissues or blood for lead measurement is due to the fact that the bone represents a long-term store of a range of elements, including lead, and can survive over many thousands of years. Different elemental analysis techniques both in-vivo and in-vitro have been developed over the years, including X-ray fluorescence (XRF), the latter being the main technique described within this review. The main advantages of in-vitro techniques are that they have excellent detection limits and data processing times but on the down side they are very expensive. On the other hand, while in-vivo techniques are non-invasive they suffer from relatively poor detection limits, pointing to the need for validation using in-vitro analysis.

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“…Tetraethyl lead was used globally in petrol (gasoline) from the 1920s until the 1980s to improve engine performance, before it was phased out due to increasing concern about childhood toxicity [51], although it is possible that a few countries still use leaded petrol for economic reasons [52]. The 2002 Basel convention on hazardous wastes stimulated international responses to reduce the hazards from the re-use of Pb from used batteries, including a ban on trade, not yet fully implemented [53].…”

Section: Causes Of Ill Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environment and Human Health: The Challenge of Uncertainty in Risk Assessment

Stewart

Hursthouse

2018

Geosciences

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High quality and accurate environmental investigations and analysis are essential to any assessment of contamination and to the decision-making process thereafter. Remediation decisions may be focused by health outcomes, whether already present or a predicted risk. The variability inherent in environmental media and analysis can be quantified statistically; uncertainty in models can be reduced by additional research; deep uncertainty exists when environmental or biomedical processes are not understood, or agreed upon, or remain uncharacterized. Deep uncertainty is common where health and environment interact. Determinants of health operate from the individual's genes to the international level; often several levels act synergistically. We show this in detail for lead (Pb). Pathways, exposure, dose and response also vary, modifying certainty. Multi-disciplinary approaches, built on high-quality environmental investigations, enable the management of complex and uncertain situations. High quality, accurate environmental investigations into pollution issues remain the cornerstone of understanding attributable health outcomes and developing appropriate responses and remediation. However, they are not sufficient on their own, needing careful integration with the wider contexts and stakeholder agendas, without which any response to the environmental assessment may very well founder. Such approaches may benefit more people than any other strategy.

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Lead Poisoning: Historical Aspects of a Paradigmatic “Occupational and Environmental Disease”

Cited by 70 publications

References 23 publications

Clean Water for Developing Countries

Clean Water for Developing Countries

Lead Poisoning and Measurement of Body Burdens of Lead: A Perspective

Environment and Human Health: The Challenge of Uncertainty in Risk Assessment

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