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Dangers of Lead

Public concerns about lead pollution has waxed and waned over the past few decades
along with the uprising of the automobile industry, with the usage of lead in automobiles being
the primary culprit. Fortunately, after oppositions and objections from the environmentalists,
switching from leaded to unleaded gasoline has significantly reduced the concentration exposed
to the environment. Basically, lead can severely affect the ecosystem in three ways. Above
1000ppm (parts per million) of lead in soil will effectively wipe out all microorganisms and its
native inhabitants in soil and also affect the ecosystem by reducing the rate of decomposition of
organic matter.

As for plants, vertebrates and invertebrates, a concentration ranging from 500 to

1000ppm will wipe out majority of the living organisms, leaving behind those species which are
more resistant to lead and able to withstand higher concentrations of lead. The food chain will be
corrupted, the habitat will collapse and the ecosystem will be affected.

Atmospheric lead is stored in the ground, on the surface of water or even in vegetation.
Lead will disperse throughout the environment and ecosystem, affecting everything in its course
until it reaches an equilibrium concentration. Steps have been taken to mitigate the damage lead
causes to the environment, for example the solubility can be enhanced through the formation of
lead sulphate in soils, or reducing its toxicity and bioavailability. Hence, lead is chosen as my
heavy metal of choice due to the adverse effects it impacts on the environment.

Exposure routes of lead to the environment

As discussed above, automobiles are the primary culprit in the accumulation of lead in the
environment, especially in urban areas. Lead is also introduced into the ecosystem through paint,
mining practices, crop enhancers, improper disposal of batteries, steel industries or improper
disposal of metal parts from machinery which may leech into the environment. Studies indicated
that the majority concentration of lead is dispersed through air from the major emission source
(UNEP 1991).

Effects of lead on soil

Soil with higher organic contents, for example carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus are more
prone to lead accumulation. In soil, the deposited lead is transferred to the upper layers on the
surface of the soil, if left undisturbed will remain up to 2000 years. Provided the ecosystem is
undisturbed, atmospheric lead can also be found on the upper layer on the surface of the soil,
together with the organic matter. The atmospheric lead found in soil will continue to disperse and
spread to other microorganisms until an equilibrium concentration is achieved. The binding sites
on organic matter can be easily displaced due to the uneven distributions of lead in the
ecosystem, which also may slow down the process or impede the chemical breakdown of
inorganic soil fragments. Hence, the solubility of lead present in the soil may increase, indirectly
facilitating the absorption by plants.

Effects of lead on plants

Involvement of plants relating to lead is that they have an inclination to absorb lead form the
surface of the soil and the worst part is they retain most of the lead in their roots. There is also
some evidence that lead too, is absorbed through the leaves, which consequently leads us to this
possibility that the lead will be further transported to other parts of the plant. An effective way to
curb and reduce the lead intake by plants is by introducing calcium and phosphorus into the soil.
The retaining capacity of lead in different plants differ from one another.
Photosynthesis of plants occurs in the plants leaves, through the pores carbon dioxide is absorbed
and oxygen, on the other hand is released. When the concentration of lead in a particular area
increases, evidently the surface of the leaves will be covered with lead, reducing the amount of
sunlight entering the pores. As the rate of photosynthesis reduces, the growth of the plant may be
inhibited, or even worse, inhibiting respiration of the plant, causing the elongation of plant cells
which may influence root development due to premature aging.

Effects of lead on micro-organisms

The concentrations of lead in urban areas can reach up to 10,000 ppm to 40,000 ppm. Such
concentrations pose concerns on bacteria and fungi populations in the ecosystem.
Microorganisms play an integral part in the food chain. They stay at the bottom of the food

chain, which is generally most abundant, and act as decomposers. Once wiped out, different
microorganism species which are more resistant to lead and can survive at higher lead
concentrations are likely to replace the existing population. Different microorganisms will give
different decomposing rates, which may not be as effective as the one in our current ecosystem.

Effects of lead on humans and animals

Children
The growth rate of children is relatively fast compared to adults. At a young age they develop
new bones, muscles and it is a period where their brain is growing at the fastest rate. Introducing
lead to a body at such a young age, even in low levels can be extremely harmful, and the effects
are irreversible. The effects of lead are as listed:

On the other hand, high levels of lead are life threatening and can cause seizures,
unconsciousness, and death.

Adults
Even adults are prone to lead poisoning. Since adults have relatively larger body size compared
to a childs, hence the concentration (ppm) for lead to cause actual bodily harm to an adult will
logically be more than of a child. Adults exposed to lead above the TLV (Threshold Limit Value)
may cause:

The primary effect of lead on the central nervous system of animals is lead will inhibit the ability
of animals to produce or synthesize red blood cells. Similar to the case in soil above, calcium and
phosphorus can help reduce the intestinal absorption of lead. The US EPA report states that an
exposure of 2-8 mg of lead per kilogram of body weight per day, over a period of time, proved to
be fatal in most animals.