Creating Awareness on Toxic Nature of Lead

Abstract

In our day-to-day life, we come across in contact with hundreds of substances such as natural or synthetic which are toxic. In recent time, the number of chemical substances in use as increased drastically. Lead is one such element that contaminates the environment and also enters the human body. Heavy metals have relatively high density and are toxic even at ppb levels which include Pb, As, Hg, Cd, Zn, Ag, Cu, Fe, Cr, Ni and Pd. These metals are released into the environment by both natural and manmade sources such as industrial discharge, automobiles exhaust and mining. Unlike other pollutants, heavy metals are non-biodegradable and have tendency to accumulate in living beings. In fact, most of them are known to be potential carcinogens. Various adverse health effects are known due to long term and continuous exposure to heavy metals. Heavy metals pose a threat to the ecosystem since they are non degradable and tend to bio-accumulate in living beings. Many of the industries including metal extracting, oil refineries, mining, electroplating, paper, paint, textile and tanneries containing heavy metals in waste water. From the survey of existing literature which shows that an area that is more polluted is likely to be contaminated with lead as well. This article briefly describes the toxic nature of lead and its harmful effects to create awareness.