Burgin DeSantis 1

Maddie Burgin and Sarah DeSantis

Mr. Acre

AP Calculus

10 February 2017

Lead in the Body

Everyone has heard of the old wives tale saying that if children color their skin with

pencil, they will contract lead poisoning. However, as those children grew up, they learned that

pencils are made of graphite rather than lead, disproving the entire myth. Many people laugh at

the prospect of getting lead poisoning from an everyday occurrence such as writing with a pencil,

but what if one could be poisoned by their own water? As many have already heard, the city of

Flint, Michigans water was discovered to contain immensely large quantities of lead in April,

2014. This was due to old lead pipes in the area contaminating the citys drinking water. This

crisis attracted international attention and support from all around the nation for months, but as

time passed and new issues arose, Flint was forgotten. Approximately 98,000 citizens were left

without clean water and today, only 600 of the 30,000 suspected corroded pipelines have been

replaced (Carmody). In fact, 52% of the water filters installed in Flint homes were found to have

problems (Flint Water Crisis Fast Facts). This is not an issue that will vanish if the public turns

its back. Thousands of people are still suffering three years after the leads discovery and they

will not be cured after a good nights rest.

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Figure 1. Lead Service Lines in Flint (City of Flint)

Figure 1 shows a map of all lead service lines being used in the city of Flint. All water

that flowed through these pipes became contaminated and only a small portion of these lines

have been fixed since the discovery of this crisis in 2014.

Flints fiasco began when city officials switched from using Detroit water to water from

the Flint river in order to save money. The river has a history of being contaminated and unclean,

but officials assured residents that the water would be safe to use. Due to the citys carelessness,

the water did not receive proper treatment and corroded the lead pipelines, contaminating the

water supply. City officials originally refused to switch back to Detroit water because they

claimed that Detroit water would be just as bad as Flint water, but studies conducted by Virginia
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Tech found that water from the Flint river was 19 times more corrosive than Detroits water

supply (Edwards). Samples show that the average Flint household has a lead concentration of

2,000 parts per billion (ppb) in its water and the highest concentration was more than 13,000

ppb. The Environmental Protection Agency declares that 15 ppb is the limit of safe drinking

water while anything over 5,000 ppb is considered hazardous waste (Adams). The amount of

lead in the Flint residents bodies will remain there and continue destroying lives for decades

unless something is done.

Figure 2. Amount of Lead in Water (Johnson)

Figure 2 shows a visual graphic of the amount of lead found in Flints water as opposed

to the water from the neighboring cities of Troy and Detroit. It also shows the amount of lead

that the EPA deems is cause for concern if found in the water supply. The average amount of lead

found in Flint homes is over five times more than that level set by the EPA.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stresses that removing an individual

from the environment in which they contracted lead poisoning is the most important step of

treatment, but every person whose blood lead levels are greater than or equal to 45g/dL should

receive chelation therapy (Preventing Lead Poisoning). Patients taking chelation therapy

either receive the drug EDTA orally or intravenously. The drug itself increases the rate heavy

metals and minerals leave the body by bonding with the metals and dispelling them through the

patients urine. With the administration of these medications, the people of Flint could eliminate

the lead from their bodily systems faster than they could before. Chelation therapy would

normally cost a patient hundreds of dollars in order to receive proper treatment, but much of

Flints population lies below the poverty line and many households have multiple children and

family members afflicted with lead poisoning. Most of those families would not be able to afford

the treatment that could save their childrens lives. Under the circumstances, with an entire city

ingesting lead at a horrific rate, anti-lead medications such as EDTA and chelation therapy

should be made available to the people of Flint for free.

Some may argue that the state of Michigan does not have enough money to pay for each

citizens treatments, but if the state managed to adjust its budget more wisely, it could help its

own people who were poisoned due to the carelessness of city and state officials. In fact, the

millionaires that overlooked the toxicity of Flints water for eighteen months could survive if

they each spared a few thousand dollars from their pockets. Yes, paying for the treatments for

Flints residents will be very expensive, but what it boils down to is that none of those people

deserved to be poisoned and their lives were forever ruined when the city switched water

sources. Work towards fixing Flints water is progressing very slowly if at all and the state owes

the citizens for destroying their lives. Chelation therapy is proven to drastically reduce the
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amount of lead in the body and access to this could mean the difference between a child being rid

of most of the lead in his body by age 25 as opposed to age 95.

Lead enters the body through inhalation and ingestion. It first enters the blood, travels to

the tissue, and finally travels to the bones. The rate at which lead leaves the bones is slower than

the rates at which it leaves the blood and tissue. As a result, lead remains in the bones for a

longer period of time than in blood and tissue.

Eulers Method is a procedure that can be used to evaluate differential equations given an

initial value. This method was used to analyze a study conducted in Los Angeles and published

in 1973. Similarly to the people of Flint, citizens of Los Angeles were ingesting a large amount

of lead on a daily basis. The average rate in which lead entered the body in Los Angeles at the

time was 49.3 micrograms (g) per day. Using Eulers Method, the lead remaining in the blood,

tissue, and bones was found for each day up to 800 days. The data shows the amount of lead

remaining under regular conditions with no treatment added, as well as the amount of lead

remaining when an anti-lead medication is added on day 401. Selected dates are shown in the

following tables.

Table 1
Lead Remaining: Regular Conditions
Day Lead in Blood (g) Lead in Tissue (g) Lead in Bones (g)

1 49.3 0 0

2 96.8252 0.54723 0.19227

365 1583.921 618.45882 2010.35

Day Lead in Blood (g) Lead in Tissue (g) Lead in Bones (g)

401 1584.4588 618.93368 2230.104

800 1587.455 620.35547 4650.137

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Figure 3. Lead Remaining: Regular Conditions

Table 1 and Figure 3 show the amount of lead remaining in the blood, tissue, and bones.

After one day, the lead can only be found in the blood. On the second day, the lead has traveled

to the tissue and bones as well. After one year, the amount of lead in the tissue levels out at

approximately 618 g, and the amount of lead in the blood levels out to approximately 1584 g.

However, the amount of lead in the bones continues to increase. In fact, the amount of lead in the

bones is still increasing after 800 days. This shows that without treatment, the amount lead in the

body will continue to grow larger for a very long time.

Table 2
Lead Remaining: Lead Free Environment with Medication
Day Lead in Blood (g) Lead in Tissue (g) Lead in Bones (g)

1 49.3 0 0

2 96.8252 0.54723 0.19227

365 1583.921 618.45882 2010.35

401 1535.8594 618.93368 2229.404

Day Lead in Blood (g) Lead in Tissue (g) Lead in Bones (g)

800 24.963777 10.110757 2172.454

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Figure 4. Lead Free Environment with Medication

Table 2 and Figure 4 show the amount of lead in the body up to 800 days. This time, the

man in the study was moved to a lead-free environment and given anti-lead medication on day

401. The amount of lead in the bones on day 401, the first day of the treatment, is already less

than the amount of lead in the bones from Table 1. After 800 days with the treatment, there are

2172.454 g lead in the bones, which is significantly smaller than the 4650.137 g lead in the

bones after 800 days without treatment.

This study can be applied to the citizens of Flint. The anti-lead medications have a great

effect on the rate at which lead leaves the body, so it can decrease the severity of lead induced

health issues in the future. The lead in Flints water supply is not the peoples fault, but they are

suffering the consequences. Citizens of Flint should be given these anti-lead medications for free

to allow the lead to leave their bodies as fast as possible.

Lead is a neurotoxin that has detrimental effects on the body and brain when it is

consumed. Children consume lead at a much greater rate than adults due to constant touching of

the mouth with hands and toys. Lead poisoning in its early stages often goes unnoticed in

children, as lead is odorless, tasteless, and the symptoms are not obvious to the eye (Mitchell).

Even at low concentrations, however, lead can have negative effects on the body systems of

children. The blood-brain barrier, or a filtering system to prevent the passage of harmful
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substances into the brain, is less developed in children than in adults, which makes children more

vulnerable to the detrimental effects of lead in the body. When lead comes into contact with other

cells, it interferes with the function of calcium in the cell and disrupts many other biological

activities between cells (Sanders, et. al). This disruption in regular cell functions caused even at

low concentrations of lead can stunt a childs brain development, which in turn can result in

learning disabilities and behavioral changes.

Recent studies have linked high concentrations of lead in water to severe damage to the

central nervous system. High concentrations of lead in drinking water cause lead neurotoxicity,

which is when lead alters the activity of the central nervous system and causes damage. Lead is

known to directly cause excitotoxicity, or the killing of neutrons, which affects part of the cell

such as neurotransmitters, receptors, and the mitochondria (Sanders, et. al). Health effects

include, but are not limited to, the loss of vision and memory and cognitive disorders. In more

serious cases of high lead concentrations, the attack on the central nervous system can lead to

coma, convulsions, or even death (Lead Poisoning and Health).

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Figure 5. Results of Lead Exposure (The Adverse Health)

Figure 5 depicts the various symptoms and effects of lead poisoning in both adults and

children. Lead poisoning affects almost every part of the human body and can cause irreversible

damage. Due to the length lead will stay in a persons body, a child might have to live with these

afflictions for the rest of his life. This is what the citizens of Flint are experiencing.

Though there is no concrete proof, lead is currently believed to be a human carcinogen.

This belief is held by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer

(Brown). These organizations are currently conducting more research to determine whether or

not lead truly is a carcinogen, meaning that it could cause cancer in living tissue. This research

has the potential to prove that the negative health effects from lead found in drinking water may

become worse than they are now.

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At the current point in time, the neurological damage done by lead is irreversible. The

children who develop learning and behavioral disabilities at an early age will retain those

disabilities for the rest of their lives. Children who once looked at a bright future are now

doomed to live out the rest of their lives with brain damage on top of numerous other health

problems. Diseases caused by lead will also have effects that last a lifetime. For example, if lead

truly is a carcinogen, then it can have negative effects on the body long after exposure is stopped

and even long after the lead leaves the system. Even after chelation therapy when most of the

lead has left a persons system, they will still be plagued with poor health and the children will

still sport brain damage and multiple disabilities.

Many children of Flint, Michigan have been exposed to lead from the pipe system for

their entire lives. The harmful effects from this crisis will likely stay with them throughout the

rest of their lives. By making anti-lead medication free for residents, the city of Flint can take a

larges step in the process of fixing this major issue. With the administration of anti-lead

medication, the children that were affected by the high lead concentrations will have a chance at

a better, lead-free future.

Works Cited

Adams, Mason, and Jesse Tuel. "Fighting for Flint." Fighting for Flint: A Virginia Tech Team

Exposes Lead Poisoning | Virginia Tech Magazine. Virginia Polytechnic Institute

and State University, 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.vtmag.vt.edu/spring16/fighting-for-flint.html>.

Brown, Mary Jean, and Stephen Margolis. "Lead in Drinking Water and Human Blood Lead Levels in

the United States." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and
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Prevention, 09 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6104a1.htm>.

Carmody, Steve. "A Year Later, Unfiltered Flint Tap Water Is Still Unsafe To Drink." NPR. NPR, 14

Dec. 2016. Web. 05 Feb. 2017. <goo.gl/EX5VQW>.

"City of Flint Lead Service Line Connections." Geographic Information Systems Center (n.d.): n. pag.

Web. 7 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.umflint.edu/sites/default/files/groups/GIS_Center/leadconn_11_7.pdf>.

Edwards, Marc. "Test Update: Flint River Water 19X More Corrosive than Detroit Water for

Lead Solder; Now What?" Flint Water Study Updates. N.p., 11 Sept. 2015. Web.

05 Feb. 2017. <goo.gl/ggSjim>.

"Flint Water Crisis Fast Facts." CNN. Cable News Network, 2 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/04/us/flint-water-crisis-fast-facts/>.

Johnson, Dave. "Government Run Like a Business Led to Lead in Flint's Water." Campaign For

America's Future. N.p., 20 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Feb. 2017.

<https://ourfuture.org/20160120/government-run-like-a-business-led-to-lead-in-flints-water>.

"Lead Poisoning and Health." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, Sept.

2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs379/en/>.

Mitchell, Kimberly. Nightmare of lead a reality for many families in Detroit. Detroit Free

Press, 16 May 2010.

"Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children: Chapter 7." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Oct. 1991. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/publications/books/plpyc/chapter7.htm#Treatment guidelines>.
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Sanders, Talia, Yiming Liu, Virginia Buchner, and Paul B. Tchounwou. "Neurotoxic Effects and

Biomarkers of Lead Exposure: A Review." PubMed Central. U.S. National Library of Medicine,

Jan. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

<https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2858639/>.

"The Adverse Health Effects of Lead Poisoning." Moore on Health. N.p., 30 May 2016. Web. 07 Feb.

2017. <https://mooreonhealth.com/category/national-trends/lead-poisoning/>.