What is the health risk from eating candy with unsafe levels of lead?

Lead exposure is especially dangerous to children and pregnant women. In pregnant women, high levels
of exposure may cause premature delivery and poor growth of the fetus. Lead poisoning can harm a
childs nervous system and brain when they are still developing, making it difficult to learn, pay attention
and perform well in school. Increased lead levels have been associated with behavioral problems.

Lead exposure can cause kidney damage in adults or children. Long-term exposure to lead can result in
decreased performance in some tests that measure functions of the nervous system. It may also cause
anemia and increases in blood pressure. It can affect fertility, delaying puberty in women and decreasing
sperm production in men.

Exposure to very high blood lead levels may cause seizures and death.


Lead and its human effects

Lead is a useful and common metal that has been used by humans for thousands of years. It
is also a very dangerous poison, particularly for children, when it is accidentally inhaled or
ingested.
Rules and regulations prohibit lead in common products like most gasoline and paint, so lead
poisoning has dramatically declined in the United States. However, it is still a real problem that
continues to poison thousands of people in the U.S. each year. The following will provide
information about sources of lead in the environment, who is most at risk for lead poisoning, how
you can reduce the chances that you or your children will become injured by lead, and what Public
Health - Seattle & King County is doing about the lead problem.

Health effects - there is no safe level

Though lead is found frequently in our environment, it has no known purpose in our bodies. When
lead gets inside the body, the body confuses it with calcium and other essential nutrients. This
confusion can cause permanent damage to the health of both children and adults.
Children
In children, lead is most damaging when they are six years and younger. Children are growing at a
very fast rate - growing bones, developing stronger muscles and creating many connections in their
brain. When lead instead of essential nutrients is "available" to the body to make bones, muscle,
and brain connections, permanent harm to health can occur. Even at low levels, lead can be
harmful and be associated with:
Learning disabilities resulting in a decreased intelligence (decreased IQ)
Attention deficit disorder
Behavior issues
Nervous system damage
Speech and language impairment
Decreased muscle growth
Decreased bone growth
Kidney damage
High levels of lead are life threatening and can cause seizures, unconsciousness, and death.
Adults
Lead exposure is a concern for adults, even though they have finished growing. Since an adult's
body is much larger than a child's body, more lead is needed to cause injury but the harm lead can
do to an adult is very serious. High levels of lead can cause:
Increased chance of illness during pregnancy
Harm to a fetus, including brain damage or death
Fertility problems in both men and women
High blood pressure
Digestive issues
Nerve disorders
Memory and concentration problems
Muscle and joint pain


Wt we can do?
Blood lead testing:
The only way to know if your child is lead-poisoned is by getting him or her a blood lead test. If your
child has Medicaid insurance, testing for blood lead levels is required, especially for children at 12
months and 24 months of age. Children with Medicaid insurance between the ages of 36 months
and 72 months of age must receive a lead screening blood test if they have not been previously
tested.
To do the test your physician will need to obtain some of your child's blood. The blood can be
drawn in two ways - 1) from a vein in the arm or 2) a prick on the finger or heel. If blood is drawn
from a prick on the finger or heel and the results are high, your child should be re-tested using the
blood collected from the arm to confirm the results. Blood collected from the vein provides the
surest results.
If your child has a high blood lead level, some follow up may be necessary. For example, you may
be eligible for a visit from Public Health experts who can investigate potential sources of lead in
your home that may be contributing to your child's lead level.

Lead - Pb
Chemical properties of lead - Health effects of lead - Environmental effects of
lead
Atomic number 82
Atomic mass 207.2 g.mol
-1

Electronegativity according to Pauling 1.8
Density 11.34 g.cm
-3
at 20C
Melting point 327 C
Boiling point 1755 C
Vanderwaals radius 0.154 nm
Ionic radius 0.132 nm (+2) ; 0.084 nm (+4)
Isotopes 13
Electronic shell [ Xe ] 4f
14
5d
10
6s
2 6p2

Energy of first ionisation 715.4 kJ.mol
-1

Energy of second ionisation 1450.0 kJ.mol
-1

Energy of third ionisation 3080.7 kJ.mol
-1

Energy of fourth ionisation 4082.3 kJ.mol
-1

Energy of fifth ionisation 6608

kJ.mol
-1

Discovered by The ancients

Lead
Lead is a bluish-white lustrous metal. It is very soft, highly malleable, ductile, and a relatively poor conductor of
electricity. It is very resistant to corrosion but tarnishes upon exposure to air. Lead isotopes are the end products of
each of the three series of naturally occurring radioactive elements.
Applications
Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. Alloys include
pewter and solder. Tetraethyl lead (PbEt
4
) is still used in some grades of petrol (gasoline) but is being phased out
on environmental grounds.
Lead is a major constituent of the lead-acid battery used extensively in car batteries. It is used as a coloring
element in ceramic glazes, as projectiles, in some candles to threat the wick. It is the traditional base metal for
organ pipes, and it is used as electrodes in the process of electrolysis. One if its major uses is in the glass of
computer and television screens, where it shields the viewer from radiation. Other uses are in sheeting, cables,
solders, lead crystal glassware, ammunitions, bearings and as weight in sport equipment.
Lead in the environment
Native lead is rare in nature. Currently lead is usually found in ore with zinc, silver and copper and it is extracted
together with these metals. The main lead mineral in Galena (PbS) and there are also deposits of cerrussite and
anglesite which are mined. Galena is mined in Australia, which produces 19% of the world's new lead, followed by
the USA, China, Peru' and Canada. Some is also mined in Mexico and West Germany. World production of new lead
is 6 million tonnes a year, and workable reserves total are estimated 85 million tonnes, which is less than 15 year's
supply.
Lead occurs naturally in the environment. However, most lead concentrations that are found in the environment are
a result of human activities. Due to the application of lead in gasoline an unnatural lead-cycle has consisted. In car
engines lead is burned, so that lead salts (chlorines, bromines, oxides) will originate.
These lead salts enter the environment through the exhausts of cars. The larger particles will drop to the ground
immediately and pollute soils or surface waters, the smaller particles will travel long distances through air and
remain in the atmosphere. Part of this lead will fall back on earth when it is raining. This lead-cycle caused by
human production is much more extended than the natural lead-cycle. It has caused lead pollution to be a
worldwide issue.
Health effects of lead
Lead is a soft metal that has known many applications over the years. It has been used widely since 5000 BC for
application in metal products, cables and pipelines, but also in paints and pesticides. Lead is one out of four metals
that have the most damaging effects on human health. It can enter the human body through uptake of food
(65%), water (20%) and air (15%).

Foods such as fruit, vegetables, meats, grains, seafood, soft drinks and wine may contain significant amounts of
lead. Cigarette smoke also contains small amounts of lead.

Lead can enter (drinking) water through corrosion of pipes. This is more likely to happen when the water is slightly
acidic. That is why public water treatment systems are now required to carry out pH-adjustments in water that will
serve drinking purposes.

For as far as we know, lead fulfils no essential function in the human body, it can merely do harm after uptake from
food, air or water.

Lead can cause several unwanted effects, such as:
- Disruption of the biosynthesis of haemoglobin and anaemia
- A rise in blood pressure
- Kidney damage
- Miscarriages and subtle abortions
- Disruption of nervous systems
- Brain damage
- Declined fertility of men through sperm damage
- Diminished learning abilities of children
- Behavioural disruptions of children, such as aggression, impulsive behavior and hyperactivity

Lead can enter a foetus through the placenta of the mother. Because of this it can cause serious damage to the
nervous system and the brains of unborn children.


Read more: http://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/pb.htm#ixzz37YE7MRGU