Lead in Drinking Water
By Katherine Kim
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), the largest of the five offshore plastic accumulation zones in the world’s oceans, is located in the PacificLead is a naturally occurring metal found in the Earth. Lead’s widespread use in products such as, paint, ceramics, pipes and plumbing materials, gasoline, batteries, ammunition and cosmetics have resulted in extensive environmental contamination, human exposure, and public health problems. Lead’s toxic effects can have permanent health consequences and high percentages of lead poisoning.
Lead can be found in all parts of our environment. Air, soil, water, and even inside our homes, our exposure to lead is very widespread. Most of our exposure, unfortunately, comes from human activities including mining, smelting, manufacturing, and recycling activities. However, this excessive usage of lead can contaminate our resources like drinking water. This can happen in many ways. However, the main source of lead in drinking water comes from lead pipes, faucets, and plumbing fixtures. Lead can enter when these materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content.
Young children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning as they can absorb up to 4-5 times as much lead as adults and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the effects of lead. As children tend to have more qualities of curiosity, they are usually more exposed to lead through hand-to-mouth and object-to-mouth behaviors. Lead exposure on children can have serious consequences. High levels of lead can severely damage the brain and the central nervous systems leading to extreme cases of comas, convulsions, and even death. Children who survive lead poisoning may even be with permanent intellectual disabilities and behavior disorder.
Lead exposure causes a significant burden. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) estimates that more than 1.5 million deaths globally were attributed to lead exposure in 2021, primarily due to cardiovascular effects. Additionally, lead exposure was estimated to account for more than 33 million years lost to disability (disability-adjusted life years, or DALYs) worldwide in 2021.
Works Cited
guide, step. “Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 23 July 2024, https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water. Accessed 15 September 2024.
guide, step. “Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 23 July 2024, https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water#getinto. Accessed 1 October 2024.
“Lead poisoning.” World Health Organization (WHO), 11 August 2023, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health. Accessed 15 September 2024.
“Lead poisoning.” World Health Organization (WHO), 27 September 2024, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health. Accessed 1 October 2024.
“Learn about Lead | US EPA.” Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 7 February 2024, https://www.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead. Accessed 1 October 2024.
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