The element I decided to do was lead. Lead was used many years before and it is still used a lot today. Lead is still very useful and is found in many things that were used a long time ago and things we still use today. Lead is a very poisonous element that can really harm your skin and your body. Since lead is very toxic, it’s not recommended for children. Lead is also the heaviest of the carbon family.
Lead was used by the Romans for water pipes, aqueducts, tank linings, and cooking pots. In the 21st century, lead remains a cornerstone of society. Ancient scientists used it in cosmetics, paints, pigments, and in lead-rich glazes. The chemical properties in lead is what makes it a thoroughly modern metal. Lead’s chemical symbol comes from the latin word for waterworks.
Lead’s atomic number is 82. It’s atomic weight is 207.2, and lead’s atomic mass is 207.2 u + - 0.1 u. It also has a density that is 11.342 grams per cubic centimeter. Leads color can differ based on where it is. Lead can be an aqua white but then a dull gray color when it is exposed to air. It’s a solid at room temperature. ”It's element classification is a metal and its electron
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Lead poisoning is a serious and sometimes fatal condition. The poisoning is found in paints, toys, contaminated dust, and gasoline products. Children are the most vulnerable to lead poisoning because most of them use toy trucks or dolls which have paint and they are getting poisoned when they put them in their mouths a lot like most kids and toddlers do. Adults can also be poisoned but not as severe as children. Adults can get poisoned by lead and have muscle and joint pain, nerve disorders, digestive issues, and high blood pressure. That is not as severe as a child decreased in intelligence speech and language impairment, decreased bone growth, and kidney
Lead, a naturally occurring metal and can be used in almost everything. It can cause serious health issues if it is exposed for a long time, particularly in children as they are more susceptible to absorbing and retaining lead in their bodies. Each year, in the United States 310,000 of 1- to 5-year age group are found to have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, which can cause a wide range of symptoms. (1)
(Campbell, 2016). Two giants in childhood lead poisoning research and advocacy, Dr. Philip Landrigan and Dr. David Bellinger, summarize the adverse effects of lead very completely, yet succinctly: “Lead is a devastating poison. It damages children’s brains, erodes intelligence, diminishes creativity and the ability to weigh consequences and make good decisions, impairs language skills, shortens attention span, and predisposes to hyperactive and aggressive behavior. Lead exposure in early childhood is linked to later increased risk for dyslexia and school failure.”(p. 3).
Children under six years old are very easily affected to the effects of lead. Even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in: behavior and learning problems, lower IQ and hyperactivity, slowed growth, hearing Problems and anemia; lead can accumulate in our bodies over time, where it is stored in bones along with calcium. For pregnant women, during pregnancy, lead is released from bones as maternal calcium and is used to help form the bones of the fetus. This is particularly true if a woman does not have enough dietary calcium. Lead can also cross the placental barrier exposing the fetus the lead. So lead can cause serious effects to the mother and her developing fetus, including: reduced growth of the fetus and premature birth. And for other adults, lead can also be harmful, it can cause cardiovascular effects, increased blood pressure and incidence of hypertension, decreased kidney function, and reproductive problems in both men and
Lead was discovered in 3000 BC, making it one of the earlier metals discovered. Lead became popular due to how easy it is to
Similarly, in the article, The Need for Vigilance: the Persistence of Lead Poisoning in Children published in Pediatrics, a peer-review journal, the authors write the article with the intent of reiterating the need for medical professionals to remain vigilant with the accurate treatment of lead poisoning. The article in Pediatrics is written by doctors for clinical professionals and is based upon a report of "a case of lead poisoning associated with ingestion of a toy necklace in a 4-year-old child" (Florin, T., Brent, R., &
Everyone is susceptible to the dangers of lead contamination; but children are especially at risk. High levels of lead in children can lead to brain and kidney damage and damage to red blood cells. Low levels of lead can also cause problems that are less life-threatening but can be just as devastating, like low IQ, hearing and language impairment, reduced attention span and poor school performance. In adults, exposure to lead can lead to an increased risk for high blood pressure. Pregnant women and their fetuses are extremely vulnerable to lead. In women, lead increases the risk of infertility and miscarriages; in fetuses, lead can cause low birth weight, premature birth and impaired mental and physical development.
The major sources of lead here were gasoline, paint chips and water from old plumbing. After lead was removed from gasoline and paint, blood lead levels (BLL) in children decreased on average from 16 mcg/dL to less than 3 mcg/dL. Residual lead persists in the environment, however. A toxic level is currently defined as 5 mcg/dL. In U.S. children age 1-5, the prevalence of BLLs >10 mcg/dL decreased from 88% to 4.4% between 1976 and 1994 and further dropped to 0.8% by 2010. Yet there are still almost half a million children in the U.S. with levels >5
Lead is poisonous because once it enters your body it can form into other atoms like zinc and iron fooling the body into thinking they are there and not carrying out the vital functions they need. Lead atoms can also block neurotransmitters. In the 1920s there was essentially a lead "boom" and marketers began putting lead in everything including shoes, lightbulbs, and leaded gasoline, advertising that it was safe and even kid friendly (in some items) when it wasn't. The lead levels in the factories became so bad that the workers were becoming sick, hallucinating, going mad, and dying from being poisoned by lead. Scientist Robert Kehoe was hired by GM to "cover up" the lead threats saying the amount of lead was a naturally occurring. No one cared about the use of leaded gasoline and other leaded materials until Clair Patterson began to dig deeper into the research of lead in the
Lead poisoning in children was first discovered in 1890 in Queensland, Australia. The lead source was not identified until 1904, when a researcher traced it to the paint used on railings and verandahs. The first discovery of lead poisoning in the United States (with a traceable source) was in 1914; the child had chewed the paint off of his crib. At this time they linked lead poisoning as a cause of convulsions in children. As research progressed and more children were found with high lead levels, symptoms caused by lead were expanded to include lead meningitis, acute encephalopathy, intellectual dullness, reduced consciousness, seizures, comas, and death (Chisholm, 1982).
This statement makes its point. It is only safe for no lead to be in the body. Another question some may ask is why is lead so toxic? Like minerals, when consumed, they spread throughout the body. The consequence is, lead replaces some of the metals bodies need (Helmenstine). To provide reasoning, decreased IQ levels from lead means that lead switched with another metal, calcium (Helmenstine). When lead replaces calcium in transmissions of electrical impulses to the brain, it disrupts the way to recall or think, thus making you not as smart (Helmenstine). Another example are neurons, and they take in and use calcium +2. Because lead is so similar and also possessing a +2 charge, acting as a substitute for calcium. Once lead ions are taken in, they will cause damage to the nervous system (Object Retrieval).
lead in bone, which is a good measure of past exposure and antisocial, delinquent, and aggressive
According to ( Compton's by Britannica, 2011, SIRS discover) Lead is found in tap water and other water sources which is toxic metal
poisoning. Lead is an element on the periodic table and was widely used in paint. Artists
A proper diet and a well-nourished body are essential for healthy living. When lead poisoning is part of the picture, nutrition becomes even more crucial to living a healthy life; this is especially important for children to remember. In an article posted by the Health and Human Services in Massachusetts (2017), it wrote, “Even low levels of lead in a child's body can cause learning and behavioral problems. Very high levels can cause retardation, convulsions, and coma.” In other words, it is important for people, especially children, to stay healthy when exposed to lead.
* Lead. Lead is hazardous to health as it accumulates in the body and affects the central nervous system. Children and pregnant women are most at risk.