What are the health effects of lead?
Lead that is inhaled or ingested enters the blood stream, where it is sent to all tissues of the body including the liver, lungs, spleen, kidney, bone marrow, skeleton and central nervous system (CNS). Lead can affect almost every organ and system in the body. Symptoms of long-term exposure to low levels of lead in adults can be very subtle and can include anemia, impaired kidney and nervous system function. Children, fetuses and pregnant women are most at risk of adverse health effects from lead exposure because lead can cross the placenta, the blood brain barriers and the CNS of young children as they are still developing in the early years of life. Low levels of lead exposure have been shown to impair the physical and mental development of children.
