BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON LEAD  

Lead is a substance used by humans throughout the ages in meeting practical needs, for making many objects and developing new materials, resulting in its accumulation in the environment. It is the most abundant heavy metal in the earth=s crust; first worked by humans more than 8,000 years ago and still being used extensively as we enter the 21st century. The US alone uses over 1,110,000 metric tons annually in the production of lead-acid batteries.

- Lead containers and lead acetate added to wine as a preservative helped to poison the elite of Rome and may have hastened the fall of the empire.

- Benjamin Franklin melted lead to create type for his printing business and became familiar with occupational exposure, noting that exposed workers suffered ill health, acted irrationally, were often considered Acrazy@, and finally died in convulsions. - In George Bernard Shaw's play Mrs. Warren's Profession the main character admits that her career as a prostitute was precipitated, in part, to avoid the health effects of working in the white lead (paint) factory. Figure 1 contains a time line of the uses of lead by human civilizations.

As an element, lead does not break down or decompose to other chemical substances; therefore, exposure is cumulative. The principal routes are through the mouth, with absorption in the digestive system or through the lungs with absorption directly into the circulatory system. In addition, organic compounds, such as tetraethyl lead, which was previously used in gasoline in the U.S. and still is in use in some countries in the developing world, can be absorbed through the skin.

The accumulation of lead has resulted in a long history of contamination of the surface of the earth poisoning generation after generation of humans.

- Mining, smelting, motor vehicle emissions, lead based paint, discarded batteries, lead-arsenate pesticides, industrial emissions, incinerators, and lead shot used in hunting are some of the major sources in the environment.

- Exposure to lead is a primary concern of public health organizations throughout the U.S. because of the serious health consequences and the wide distribution of the chemical in rural, suburban, and urban areas.

- The federal EPA has developed an interactive GIS data base which will allow users to predict potential locations of lead contamination in major cities in the U.S. and many specific communities in NJ, the model state for the project.

The sources of lead almost all stem from human activities and are certainly controllable if there is the will to do so. The elimination of C-8 lead from gasoline stands as an environmental success story that has resulted in the reduction of health risk to millions of people and other living things. Strategies for remediation of many sites of lead contamination in communities are available and cost-effective.