The New Straits Times, October 9, 1995
Q: What are the common hazards of lead-based paint? How does lead paint become harmful to humans, especially children?
A: Lead has no biological use in the human body, even in trace amounts. It displaces other metals from normal binding sites to produce some of its biochemical effects. The primary organ systems affected are the nervous system, the kidneys and the reproductive and haemopoitic (the formation of blood) systems. Serious lead poisoning will show up as a noticeable impairment of health including brain damage and possibly death.
Lead-based paint has been the most common cause of lead poisoning in children. Children run the greatest risk of being poisoned because lead is easily incorporated into their growing bodies.
Young children are the most widely exposed group because they tend to put almost anything into their mouths, especially potentially lead-painted surfaces, items or toys.
Accumulation of smaller amounts of lead for a prolonged time in a child body may also result in damage that does not become visible until the child is old enough to express learning abilities.
Studies have shown that the metabolic changes occurring in the body during pregnancy may also cause the stored lead accumulated by a pregnant mother, to be released into the blood, thus exposing the unborn child. At this critical stage of foetal development, the neurological system of the unborn child may be disrupted.
Adults can also be poisoned by accidentally ingesting lead paint dust from sandblasting activity.
Workers with potentially high exposure to lead include lead-smelting workers as well as those removing lead paint from buildings. These workers may in turn bring their contaminated belongings home, thus exposing their families to the lead poison.
Exposure during childhood may be compounded in adulthood by living in contaminated areas, working in hazardous environments or by eating contaminated food.
