Lead is a heavy metal that is common in our everyday environment. Historically it has been used in paints, pipes (including connectors/fittings), and gasoline among other places. 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.
Top exposure pathways (aka: sources of lead) include:
- Paint
- Soil
- Dust, created by soil or paint
- Water / Plumbing
Lead may be in toys, cosmetics, food containers, and other places, but the above are the top 4 pathways. Paint is generally recognized as the primary source of lead. People talk quite a bit about lead in water, in part because of the crisis in Flint Michigan. Soil is a pathway that gets less attention; however, there is growing evidence that soil -- and in particular the dust that gets kicked up -- is a significant source of lead.
How to test for lead in your home or community
Test it yourself: Buy a product off the shelf
- pros: This is probably the quickest path to testing.
- cons: The results may not be reliable.
Test it yourself: DIY / Hacker methods
- pros: Good for citizen scientists and teachers.
- cons: Actually these don’t exist yet :( Help us create them!
Get a professional to do it
- pros: Gets the most reliable results.
- cons: can be slow/annoying if you’re working with your local gov’t or expensive if you’re paying a private company)
Partner with a local college / university
- pros: Can be low-cost, allow for bulk testing, and help build important relationships
- cons: Takes time to build relationships
Use a mail-in service
- pros: Uses reliable testing methods done by professionals
- cons: May not be as fast as testing yourself, costs money
Science / Regulations + Addressing the Issue
Research Notes on PublicLab.org Related to this Topic
[notes:lead!question:lead]
Questions posted on PublicLab.org Related to this Topic
[questions:lead]