Lead poisoning in a historical perspective

Ameliorating activity of ginger (Zingiber officinale) extract against lead induced renal toxicity in male rats

“…Worldwide a large number of people are exposed to lead every year, especially those who are poor and live in developing countries. Lead is used in pottery, window making, shipbuilding, the arms industry, cosmetics, paint pigments, book printing, internal and topical medicinal preparations since recorded antiquity (Hernberg 2000;Meyer et al 2008). This heavy use of lead in industries has caused the contamination of air, dust, and soil.…”

“…Lead toxicity is associated with a variety of dysfunctions in experimental animals and humans (Hsu and Leon 2002) including haemopoietic system (De Silva 1981), liver (Sharama and Street 1980), kidneys (Humphreys 1991;Hernberg 2000), male and female reproductive systems (Lancranjan et al 1975;Rom 1980). Several review reports on lead toxicity and its possible mechanisms of action are available in literature (Gurer and Ercal 2000;Hernberg 2000;Hsu and Leon 2002;Meyer et al 2008). Although rising evidence of adverse health effects related to lead, it is still widely used in consumer products and released into the air through combustion of coals and oil, waste incineration, and fugitive emissions during mining and smelting (Meyer et al 2008).…”

Comprehensive biocompatibility of nontoxic and high-output flexible energy harvester using lead-free piezoceramic thin film

“…[26][27][28][29][30] First, generally, heavy metal ion uptake-related symptoms do not occur directly or rapidly during a temporary exposure. 26,[31][32][33][34][35] Second, cell proliferation/adhesion are not seriously affected by surficial compositions, other than surficial topographies. [67][68][69] In addition, histological inflammation and infection do not easily occur with sterilized extraneous objects without the involvement of germs, viruses, or macroscopic stabs.…”

“…29,30 For instance, there is very famous and unequivocal historical evidence that widespread Pb usage in the Roman Empire, and the popular lead cosmetics of the Middle Ages, over long periods of time contributed to critical social decline. [31][32][33] For these reasons, US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) have issued negative findings regarding lead-related materials and devices. [34][35][36][37] Piezoelectric polymers (e.g., polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)) are alternative materials for piezoelectric-bionic applications because they are soft and flexible as previously reported bioimplantations, 38,39 but they have relatively weak chemical/mechanical resistivity, and mediocre piezoelectric coupling compared to piezoelectric ceramics.…”

The Rise and Fall of Tetraethyllead. 2.

“…59 The scavengers present in the lead antiknock mix, 1,2-dichloro-and 1,2-dibromoethane, react with the inorganic lead species formed in the engine; thus, the primary inorganic lead compounds that leave the engine are PbCl 2 and PbBr 2 . These lead halides are volatile as formed in the hot engine (boiling points: PbCl 2 , 954°C; PbBr 2 , 916°C).…”