The Hazards of Lead Paint.
Up until the 1970's it was common for household and industrial
paint to contain a small concentration of lead. This was to
improve the smoothness of the dried finish and the overall
'spread ability' of the product.
Now, long after countries around the world banned its use,
rather than disappearing into history, lead paint
is becoming the asbestos of the new millennium. This is due to
the multitude of older homes, factories and government buildings
around the world that still have at least remnants of lead
painted walls and ceilings. Consider this; although all the lead
bearing surfaces may have been repainted repeatedly over the
past thirty years or so, the trouble comes when a renovation is
done. Peeling or chipping back the painted surfaces exposes the
old paint, causing it to create lead oxide laden dust.
So just why is the lead oxide in this deteriorating paint so
harmful? Well, lead can harm virtually every part of the human
body; in particular the brain, kidney and reproductive system.
Lead can enter the body in several ways, for example the
respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract and alarmingly
simply through skin absorption. Lead gets into the body when you
breathe in lead dust or fumes in the air around you. If you
swallow food or water that's contaminated by lead dust, small
amounts of lead can gradually build up in the body and cause
health problems.
Even more disturbing is the fact that lead can't be excreted. It
stores in the body for up to 30 years in bone, from where it can
mobilize back into the blood. From a single exposure, lead is
readily absorbed and quickly distributed to your blood, soft
tissue and bones/teeth. Anemia can occur if lead accumulates in
blood and in blood-forming tissues (bone marrow). Lead distorts
the production of red blood cells in the body. People suffering
the effects of lead toxicity usually feel a headache or
lethargy. Symptoms of moderate to severe exposure include
irritability, abdominal pain or constipation, aggressiveness and
colic leading to seizures and death. Lead poisoning in children
may manifest as developmental delay, learning difficulties or
other behavioral problems.
To further add to the difficulty, safely removing lead paint is
problematic. Workers have to not only protect themselves with
suitable masks and suits, but also buildings and people in the
vicinity. Disposal of the toxic waste must be done according to
strict protocols, and is therefore an expensive and highly
specialized exercise.
So it can be seen why lead in old paint, still trapped in
countless older buildings the world over, is a menace that will
continue to plague us for the foreseeable future.
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