Paper Example on Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning is a toxic condition caused by ingestion, inhalation, or dermal absorption of lead and lead compounds thus resulting in some dose related conditions including nausea, anemia, muscle weakness, blindness, among other conditions according to Dictionary.com. This condition is mainly common among people in contact with lead and its products. According to WHO, lead is a naturally occurring toxic element on the earths crust, and its widespread use has led to its extensive environmental contamination. The most common sources of contamination include mining, manufacturing, smelting, recycling, continued use for instance in lead paint, leaded gasoline, and leaded aviation fuel. Lead has a variety of uses, and much of it is now obtained through recycling ("Lead Poisoning and Health").

Issues related to lead poisoning

The case of Flint Michigan

Flint is a city in Michigan that is popular, as it was here that General Motors was born. The town is home to over 100,000 people, but unfortunately, 41.6% of them live below the poverty line as per data from U.S. Census Bureau (Butler et al., 94). In April 2014, the city residents suffered water contamination, lead poisoning, and Legionaries disease, and soon it became a crisis (Media-WPSU). The root of the problem was the city governance. Flint water service incurred a deficit of over $9 million. The water from Flint River was now channeled to flow to Flint City instead of directing water from Detroit that is just nearby. The plan of channeling water from Flint River, was at first, considered a temporary plan to remediate the water situation until another water system was build (Butler et al., 94). Immediately after the switch, the residents of the city complained about the taste, color and the odor of the water, rashes, and several concerns about bacterial contamination. General Motors ceased using the water as it corroded the cars (Media-WPSU). The city officials in 2014 issued notices to residents to boil water because reports indicated high levels of bacterial coliforms and another organism. A lawsuit was issued to Michigan Department of Water Quality for not treating water with anti-corrosive agent hence violating the federal law (Butler et al., 94).

Despite the numerous complaints from the residents, the state water officials ignored their pleas despite the Governors being fully aware of lead poisoning and Legionnaires disease since 2014, although declining that they were not aware in 2015 (Media-WPSU). The reports from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, only gave information regarding taste, odor, and color, disinfection issues but did not address the issue of lead contamination in the city water supply and Legionnaires disease (Butler et al., 95). Despite in 2016, the water authority offered to reconnect Flint City to Hurons water, but the city officials declined to cite that it would raise water fees to more than $12 million annually (Media-WPSU). The officials told residents to drink tap water, but they had a cooler with purified water from where they drank. Lead and bacteria contamination in Flint demonstrated failure at every level of government because despite being aware of the situation, they did not act until 2016, due to fierce media attention (Media-WPSU). The 100 households, which the Water Advisory Task Force failed to sample, represented the highest risks of lead and copper contamination, hence violating lead and copper rule because, despite 90% lead levels, sampling reports showed 6ppb, well below the AL of 15ppb (Butler et al., 95). The birth of this crisis was mainly contributed by the lack of concern by the government to respond to the disaster and disregard for public health, which was in part attributed to racial and economic characteristics of flint (Butler et al., 95).

The Potential Impacts of Lead Poisoning

Lead poisoning has a series of short-term and long-term effects on human health. Even a one-time exposure to high quantities of lead has immediate and chronic effects ("Short- And Long-Term Effects of Lead Exposure"). The short-term effects of lead exposure vary with concentration of lead particles, the duration of the exposure and the amount of lead ingested, inhaled or absorbed into the body. The effects range from loss of appetite, anxiety, stomach cramps, metallic taste in the mouth, headache, dizziness, and seizures. Other symptoms include numbness, nervous irritability, pale skin, tiredness, muscle and joint pain, tremors, coma, and even death ("CDC - Lead: Health Problems Caused by Lead ").

The long-term effects of lead exposure mainly occur in the workplace, and the continuous ingestion, inhalation or absorption of the lead compound from the environment, for instance in water, lead paint, leaded gasoline among other sources ("Short- And Long-Term Effects of Lead Exposure"). Long-term effects occur when the body takes in more lead than it can naturally eliminate. Anemia is a common health effect of long-term lead poisoning, caused by the decreased ability of blood to transport oxygen throughout the body hence causing weakness and tiredness. Nervous damage can be temporary but could lead to severe brain damage over time with continued exposure (Campbell et al.). Children that are exposed continuously to lead suffer mental retardation and behavioral disorders. Additionally, it decrements neurological functions such as intelligence, development, and attention. Early childhood exposure increases the risk of dyslexia and school failure (Campbell et al.). The other neural induced problems include poor memory, irritability, tremors, collisions, and drowsiness ("Short- And Long-Term Effects of Lead Exposure"). The symptoms of kidney disease can induce urinary problems, which do not present itself until the kidneys are severely damaged. Continuous lead exposure causes reproductive problems such as female and male infertility and results in impotence or sterility. Women who are overexposed to lead may experience stillbirths, and could also sire children with congenital disabilities, mental retardation and could die within their first year of life (Butler et al., 93). The other effects include restlessness, vomiting, and muscular weakness.

Work cited

Butler, Lindsey J., Madeleine K. Scammell, and Eugene B. Benson. "The Flint, Michigan, water crisis: a case study in regulatory failure and environmental injustice." Environmental Justice 9.4 (2016): 93-97.

Campbell, Carla et al. "A Case Study of Environmental Injustice: The Failure in Flint." NCBI. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 Sept. 2017.

"CDC - Lead: Health Problems Caused by Lead - NIOSH Workplace Safety and Health Topic." Cdc.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 1 Sept. 2017.

Media-WPSU. "Case Study: Flint, Michigan, Water Crisis." Pagecentertraining.psu.edu. N.p., 2017. Web. 1 Sept. 2017.

"Short- And Long-Term Effects of Lead Exposure." Safety.blr.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 1 Sept. 2017.