Lead (Pb) is a malleable, utilitarian, and soft heavy metal (Atomic Number 82) that does not dissolve in water, nor decay, nor dissipate, nor burn. Lead has a scientific "half-life" of over 500,000 years; therefore it just lasts, and lasts, and lasts.
Due to its physical and chemical properties, many industries have found countless uses for lead in our daily lives.. While certain uses of lead are banned in the United States--- such as lead in paint used in residences, etc., lead is still used in many countries in a myriad in of products. Many of these leaded products make their way in the free market back into the United States and end up being ingested, inhaled or simply used by American consumers.
Lead has been mined and used prolifically in the world since about the year 4,000 B.C. --- over 6,000 years ago. It has not gone away during that lengthy time period. It can be said that lead is virtually everywhere in the industrialized world, including in Baltimore. For instance, some sources of lead in the earth's environment include:
- Lead in the air we breathe;
- Lead in the water we drink and use;
Lead in our pipes and plumbing fixtures;
- Lead in occupational settings such as job sites, the clothes we wear to work, etc.;
- Lead from industrial emissions, such as lead smelters, lead mining, hazardous waste sites, and
and battery-recycling plants;
- Lead in cooking utensils, tableware, glassware, lead-glazed pottery, etc.
- Lead in soils, playgrounds, sandlots, etc.
- Lead in foods, plants, trees, etc.
- Lead paint, and resulting lead dust, found in and around houses and apartments built before 1978
[Lead-based paint was banned by the Federal government in 1978]. Lead dust from deteriorated
(legacy or old) lead-paint is considered to be a significant contributor to childhood lead poisoning
( for children under the age of 6).
- Lead in certain folk or home remedies ( e.g., azarcon, greta, etc.).
- Lead involved in certain hobbies and other activities ( e.g., car radiator repair, target shooting,
stained-glass making, glass or metal soldering, etc.).
- Lead from automobile emissions (before leaded gasoline was finally banned in 1986) that has been
deposited on land and surface water.
- Foreign-made cosmetics, jewelry, furniture, toys, and other foreign-made products.
Lead paint is not the only source of lead and lead poisoning in Baltimore. There are several sources of this toxic metal
Lead poisoning is preventable when proper steps are taken. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
defines "elevated blood lead" (lead poisoning) in different ways at different times. The bottom line is that lead poisoning occurs when the person (ordinarily a child) has inhaled or ingested sufficient lead to cause physical and/or mental illness. Lead poisoning can affect nearly every system in the human body.
{If you are being named as a defendant in a lead paint or lead poisoning case, call premier landlord lead poisoning defense attorney Charles Ware at (410) 720-6129 or (410) 730-5016. He can help you.}
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