Lead Continues to Pose Developmental Threats

Most people are aware of the damage to cognitive development that arises as a result of lead poisoning. In fact, it was used as a sweetener for wine during the Roman Imperial Era and even then Roman contemporaries knew it was a neurotoxin.

It is especially harmful to pregnant women and children, causing blood and brain disorders, accumulating in the tissues and taking IQ points off entire neighborhoods.

Until the 1970s, lead paint and leaded gasoline were common in North America. Unlike many of the other neurotoxic metals, it also happens to be rather common, naturally. It is still used extensively in car batteries, though most of these are caught in the hazardous waste recycling stream as per federal, state and provincial law.

It’s use in paint has proven particularly difficult to remediate given how long these substances are capable of persisting in soils, particularly in urban areas. The long time use of lead in gasoline has resulted in a very widespread soil contamination.