Lead is a heavy metal that is common in our everyday environment. Historically it has been used in paints, pipes, and gasoline. Today, most industrial uses are limited to lead-acid batteries, a growing market. 

Lead is known toxin. There are no safe levels of lead for humans; any amount is a bad amount. 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. 

### Projects

**[The Lead Data Initiative](https://publiclab.org/wiki/the-lead-data-collaborative-overview)**. A multi-stakeholder effort addressing environmental lead exposure and lead poisoning prevention.

### Research Notes

[notes:lead!question:lead]

### Related Questions

[questions:lead]