What are the long term health effects of exposure to lead?
” below. What happens when lead comes into contact with my skin? Inorganic lead compounds are not known to cause skin irritation and are poorly absorbed through the skin. Can lead hurt my eyes? There is no relevant human or animal information available. The dusts would probably cause some tearing, blinking and mild, temporary pain as the solid material is rinsed from the eye by tears. Concentrated solutions containing lead compounds or high levels of elemental lead fumes may also cause irritation. What happens if lead is accidentally swallowed (enters the digestive system)? Symptoms of ingestion of a very large dose over a short time period may include headache, fatigue, nausea, abdominal cramps, and joint pain. Other health effects such as a metallic taste in the mouth, vomiting and constipation or bloody diarrhea might also be expected to occur. Reports of effects following accidental, short-term ingestion in adults are very rare, particularly now that strict controls are used in wor
