Lead (Pb)
lead

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
SadiePrego " @warren @Bronwen thanks so much you guys! " | Read more » almost 6 years ago
Bronwen "@warren That's on me! I suggested breaking this up into a few posts just because the focus of activities are all so different and I wanted to make ..." | Read more » almost 6 years ago
warren "Oh, oops, i see this isn't a duplicate at all, but split into three themes! My apologies, i am just always on the lookout to be sure our moderation..." | Read more » almost 6 years ago
warren "Ah, looks like maybe it was posted twice because the first was held in moderation (sorry, our anti-spam systems are unfortunate, but you wouldn't b..." | Read more » almost 6 years ago
warren " This looks tremendous. Very exciting -- thank you!!!! " | Read more » almost 6 years ago
smmontgom "Hi @liz, Thanks for your compliments. Our testing utilizes a standard sample collection kit with 2 bottles [1st draw, flush, 2nd draw] that is then..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
smmontgom "Hi @bronwen, Thanks for the comments and connections. Our testing locations are also crowdsourced by our testers, and we'd love to have a more geog..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
abusaud23 "This is a nice startup idea to work for as seeing the water scarcity in some places & in the near future too. Top MBA/pgm colleges in India " | Read more » about 6 years ago
Bronwen "Hi @smmontgom - Apologies for the slow reply, we've had a busy week! Off the top of my head, the lead-specific research in North Brooklyn has been ..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
liz "Hi @smmontgom , I enjoyed reading your poster on your previous sampling protocol. Thank you for sharing! I am a big fan of publishing data in this ..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
smmontgom "@liz there is indeed a lot of potential synergy between what we're doing and the NYC DEP testing. Essentially we're building on their methods and u..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
smmontgom "Hi @Bronwen I'd love to make a connection at Newtown Creek Conservancy and the North Brooklyn Boat Club if you wouldn't mind putting me in touch. M..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
read_holman "A lengthier write-up on this effort by @smmontgom Crowdsourcing lead testing in NYC parks and playgrounds https://publiclab.org/notes/smmontgom/09..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
liz "NYC has a robust lead testing program through the Department of Environmental Protection. I am wondering if this project can use their methods and ..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
read_holman "Hi @Bronwen -- a slightly delayed reply here. I'm sort of the middle man for this one. @smmontgom-- do you want to check out the orgs mentioned her..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
nshapiro "Very cool! it would be great to have more of that info on your sampling and analyzing approach on your website as most project don't have as advanc..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
smmontgom "Hi @nshapiro, We started out using computer vision to analyze simple strip tests like you can get at your local hardware store for their ease of us..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
nshapiro "Interesting! could you post more details on what kind of lead test is used and what your sampling protocol is? thanks! looking forward to learning ..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
Bronwen "Hi @read_holman -- I might have mentioned the Newtown Creek Conservancy and the North Brooklyn Boat Club (there is a lot of overlap between the two..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
smmontgom "@xuhulk awesome! Bedstuy and LES are 2 likely hotspots for lead. You can sign up to be a tester at https://www.citizenspring.org/ Corlears Hook Par..." | Read more » about 6 years ago
xuhulk "I'm based in Bed-Stuy and the Lower East Side, and I'm very interested! " | Read more » about 6 years ago
read_holman "@liz Hi there -- were you the person who mentioned a water monitoring effort with a college in Queens? Wondering if that'd be a group that would be..." | Read more » over 6 years ago
Bronwen "@warren I do, but she's a little off the grid at the moment. She said she'd be able to get back into this in the fall! " | Read more » over 6 years ago
warren "@bronwen do you have a contact with Franciska from the Barnraising who might be able to chime in on this thread? " | Read more » over 6 years ago