Lead is a heavy metal that is common in our everyday environment. Historically it has been used in paints, pipes (including connectors/fittings), and gasoline among other places. Today, most industrial uses are limited to lead-acid batteries, a growing market. Lead is a known toxin for humans. Health effects range from mild health irritations and decreased fertility at low amounts, lower IQ and emotional/behavioral issues in milder amounts, and seizures, coma, and even death at higher amounts. ### Top exposure pathways (aka: sources of lead) include: - Paint - Soil - Dust (created by soil, paint, or emissions) - Water / Plumbing Lead may also be in toys, cosmetics, food containers, and other places, but the above are the top 4 pathways. Paint is generally recognized as the predominant source of lead. People talk quite a bit about lead in water, in part because of the crisis in Flint Michigan. Soil is a pathway that gets less attention; however, there is growing evidence that soil -- and in particular the dust that gets kicked up -- is a significant source of lead. There are no safe levels of lead for humans; any amount is a bad amount. Lead is also bioaccumulate which means that it doesn't leave your body. Small amounts add up in your body over time. -------------------- ###Top Resources on PublicLab.org Related to this Topic - [How to Test For Lead in your Environment](https://publiclab.org/notes/read_holman/04-11-2019/how-to-test-for-lead-in-your-environment) - [Evaluating Low-cost Lead Screening Products](https://publiclab.org/notes/read_holman/04-16-2019/evaluating-low-cost-lead-screening-products) - [Chemical/Analytical Methods Used When Testing for Lead](https://publiclab.org/notes/read_holman/12-12-2018/list-of-methods-for-lead-detection-monitoring) - [How much lead is legally allowed and what government agency regulates that? (link goes to CDC/ATSDR website. Scroll to Summary Table.)](https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/csem/csem.asp?csem=34&po=8) -------------------- ### Research Notes on PublicLab.org Related to this Topic [notes:lead!question:lead] ### Questions posted on PublicLab.org Related to this Topic [questions:lead] ...
| Author | Comment | Last activity | Moderation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ag8n | "Safety first. The problems you describe could be caused by a furnace not working correctly and generating carbon monoxide. Please get a carbon mo..." | Read more » | over 4 years ago | |||
| chenwilliam264 | "Wonderful publish, very useful I’m marvel why the other expert of this part do not become alert of this. You should come first your writing . I am ..." | Read more » | almost 5 years ago | |||
| liz | "Hi @read_holman , can you see if your link to "Cornell University (choose “Environmental Analysis following US EPA SW-846”)" may have been updated ..." | Read more » | about 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi @read_holman - just dropping some links in here after chatting! Very cool rigorous field evaluations of many many air sensors: http://www.aqmd..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | "Hey @warren - Just realizing I never replied to your comment. I definitely think a small accessible evaluation (haven't heard that phrase before, ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| kelukaliya | " i just love this article " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| warren | "Hi @read_holman! Sorry to respond slowly here. I do think we could try for an accessible evaluation. How much would it cost to buy 2x of each of t..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | " Thanks. Made a couple edits to the post to (try to) add clarity " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Bronwen | "Just to clarify, the soil sampling kit from Citizen Science Community Resources is available by contacting them or @jjcreedon directly (it is not ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | " @smmontgom -- I'd like to reference your digital "poster" and it's findings. When was your study performed? (month and year; though will take just..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| Ag8n | " The United States pharm. had a lot of tests for lead and other elements( like arsenic and barium). You can't argue with its scientific validity- ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | "Hi @smmontgom - Good to see your name again! And thanks for this. You did share this with me at point, though a number of months ago now. It fell o..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | "Found this which is relevant: Lead-based paint testing technologies: summary of an EPA/HUD field study (1999) http://abacus.bates.edu/~raustin/Flu..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | "An update: I haven't received any new studies yet aside from those I already knew of and linked to above: Three EPA funded evaluations (done in ~20..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| smmontgom | "Hi @read_holman, I may have already shared this with you, but these are results we got with strips from Silver Lake Research (which is the OEM for ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| read_holman | " Hi @warren -- oh yeah you pointed me to this page a few weeks ago. I think the merging / linking of content is fine. I've kept wanting to go back ..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| warren | " Hi @read_holman - there's some information (not nearly as much as you're asking for) up at https://publiclab.org/common-water-contaminants#Lead, w..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| coreytegeler | "Hey @DanielleS, I'm hoping to join the call next week, I'd like to submit some things to the spreadsheet before the call as you suggested. I just s..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| DanielleS | " ps- so great that some of you can make it to the Open Hour on soil testing! We are going to harvest the soil testing options in a spreadsheet- ple..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| stevie | " @eleanorwarner @gbathree @dbgrover - Think you might be interested in this upcoming OpenHour on soil testing as well! www.publiclab.org/openhour " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | " Yes, agreed. I was just thinking about this yesterday. There most def is a cost barrier associated with soil testing. Thats why if a community gro..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| DanielleS | "@falbriard @jjcreedon thank you for the info! Can you join us for a brainstorm about soil testing at the Upcoming OpenHour? Date: Monday, April 1s..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| shritejkhopade8 | " NICE POST THANKS FOR SHARING " | Read more » | over 5 years ago | |||
| jjcreedon | " XRF analyzers are expensive to purchase; however , most companies that sell them will also rent instruments. This is a great option for large proj..." | Read more » | over 5 years ago |