SBE yo BOE one ON OP” Conaral Antch Contaminated and Natural Lead Environments of Man CLAIR C. PATTERSON, FuD, CAMBRIDGE, MASS Introduction Ass A GEOCHEMIST, J, along with my colleagues, have studied ‘race occurrences Of lead in the earth and the oveans, In the course of this work it became necessary t0 Consider the quantitative inflence of in- Austral * lead contamination and it was dis covered that there has been a profound effect by this agency on the lead content of the oceans and of the atmosphere of the northem hemisphere." A prevailing belief is that industrial and natural sources contribute more or less equal mounts of lend to the body burdens of the general population. Tt is also commonly be- feved that the sigaificant range of natural teal concentrations in the blood is not much displaced from the interval between an aver age natural level and the average toxic level ‘A new approach to this matter suggests that the average resident of the United States bing subjected to severe chron lead insu Natural Lead States In our country, the concentrations of lead in the blood of people not visibly ill from lead poisoning range between upper it associated with acute intoxication and lower limits corresponding to levels which existed in man’s prehistoric ancestors. ‘The term “normal” has frequently been applied to concentrations of lead falling within this range, usually for eases not involving acute ‘ubed fr plication Feb 6,105; secs Ars rom the Degrtinent of Cesgy st sachucus Tone of Tesalogy. Wit ietrer currently ashe Dien of Gels Gites Trott of Teanoley, Dasadens Cali Repent tests fo Division gf GesloriealSeienees, Cal fonnin Insite of Technolgy, Posen Cx 1108 acighign oE"haeto soseter ate Sito i plumbism and not involving obvious occu pational exposure to industrial sources of lead, In this report, the term “typical” is used in such instances, As used here, the term “natural” refers to lead levels in body and environment which are equivalent to those which prevailed dur- ing the creation and evolution of our physiological responses to lead. The term “contaminated” refers to lead levels which have been elevated above natural levels by man in activities which are an outgrowth of his abstract intellect. These definitions should help to distinguish between “typical” and “natural” Iead levels; they attach a needed physiological significance to the term “natural”; they should help us keep in mind that uses of leaded pigments and cosmetics are acts equivalent in toxicological function to the more sophisticated acts of using lend- ed gasolines and insecticides. The term natural should not be applied to concentra- tions of Tead in any substance occurring in any society that utilized lead metallurgy un- less it can be shown that such substances were not contaminated. ‘The industrial use of lead is so massive today that the amount of tead mined and introduced into our relatively simall urban environments each year is more than 100 times greater than the amount of natural lead leached each year from soils by streams and added to the oceans over the entire earth. There are indications that about nine tenths of the lead in the upper mixed zones of the open oveans in the northern hemi- ephere originates from lead mines?" and that the atmosphere of the northern hemi- sphere contains about 1,000 times more than natural amounts of lead. It is difficult to exclude industrial contaminant lead even from the laboratory during sampling and Arch Environ Hoelth—Vol Hi, Sept 1965 LEA analysis of materials for Tead.** The possibility o contamination of subst lead before sampling a ready been recognized.” taminant lead to natura high in typical foodst materials, and lead conc people and. environme: States today may not natural levels. The proct from mined lead has t significant scale for the study of tree rings fr fan inerease in lead conte and a study in the early natural lead states in dians * showed signific: tions of lead in their blo cds used in the latter st ceded by better ones, a discovered that the Ind to contamination from Further investigations would be helpful and a mammoth tissues, date and bones preserved i rings, fresh. mammalia together with plants frc continents should provi tion in the future. In information now, it is revealing to set aside & ported in the literatw natural lead levels by g ‘The chemical comp: sphere is determined to by the composition of which it evolved. To be biosphere is made up of which possess decisive and which in some inst ingly abundant, but tk and in particular those simple ionie bonds, sho dence between their abt and their abundances it sider the alkali metals mental differences amc activities of sodium, | and cesium in a livingLEAD ENVIRONMENTS © analysis of materials for trace quantities of lead. The possibility of pervasive and high contamination of substances by lead before sampling and ani ready been recognized. The ratio of con taminant lead to natural lead may be very typical foodstufts and biological and lead concentrations in typical peaple and the United States today may not even approximate natural levels, The process of contamination from mined lead significant scale for thousands of years. industrial sis. as al high in materials, cavironments been operative on a study of tree rings‘ from one tree showed les, and a stuely in the early 1930's of supposed aan increase in lend content in recent dec natural lead states in some Mexican In dians* showed significantly low concentra tions of lead in their blood. Analytical meth- ‘ods used in the latter study i ceded by better ones, and it has also beer discovered that the Indians were subjecte ve been supe to contamination from lead-glazed dishes. Further investigations along these lines woulld be helpful and are expected. Fro: dated mammalian tecth and bones preserved in arid cairn fresh mammalian blood and tissues ther with plan! continents shoul the f from remote islands or provide helpful infor inform t is both y and typieal lead levels re the literature natural lead levels by geochemical means. evealing to set asi ported in and 10. estimat The chemical composition of sphere is the determined to a significant degs by the composition of the environment in the few elemen which it evolved, To be sure, the bulk o biosphere is made up of on which p chemical properties those which tend to form ingly abundant and in particular simple jonie bonds, show a close correspon- ence between their abundances in the earth bund es in the biosp Is. There are fund differences among the physiolog activities of sodium, and cesium in a living organism, but these mental Arch Environ Fel ee ATTERSON Metals ‘eee differences neither cause nor obscure the striking similarity shown in Table 1 be tween the abundances of the on the earth’s surface and in man We body an use this principle to interpolate a irden of lead from relations between concentrations of other trace elements in the earth and in the body The nearest neigh bors of lead according to mass are mercury anid thallium on the lighter side and bismuth fon the heavier side, Lead is also the heaviest of a series of elements of prog creasing mass, germanium, tin, and which are related by having an identical outermost atomic structure, The industrial production of these six elements in the United States for 1962 is listed in Table If contaminations are proportional to indus: trial production, the ratio of contaminant to natural e elements in the general population should be very greater for lead of contamination levels for the latter. abundant both in the earth's rid in human bodies, and since we are interested only in relative abundances, the concentrations of the above six tr sssed as parts of the ts of calcium in the ts of the element per amounts of th rch ardiless 1a for the rest, re Calcium is rust clement per million ps th’s erust and as p mnilion parts of calcium in the body. The liscrimination exerted by the body against Ante 2-—Produetion of Some Heavy Metals ix the United Statee Daring. 1902" Pot 1, Sept 196536 LEAD ENVIRONMENTS OP MAN—PATTERSON these elements in favor of readily accepted calicum will then be reflected by concentra- tion differences, Listed first in Table 3 are the abundances (in calcium) of germanium, tin, and lead. As shown in the third eoluma, their crustal abundances increase progres sively with increasing atomic mass. Accord- ing to relationships in Table 1, we might therefore expect the natural body burdens, which are given in the fourth column, to also increase in progressing from germani- um, through tin, to lead. This is not the ‘case, however, because another factor be- comes important in determining body bar- dens when the total spread in abundances is small In a subgroup of the periodic table, the lightest metal tends to be most nutritive while the heaviest metal tends to be most toxic, as is shown, for example, in the three subgroups; potassium, rubidium, and cesi- um; calcium, strontium, and barium; and zine, cadmium, and mercury.” The body therefore tends to discriminate against the heavier metal of the series in favor of the lighter, and we cannot expect the slight crustal absindance trend in the germanium subgroup to be faithfully recorded in the body, It may, instead, be eliminated or even reversed, Tt is possible that the diserimina~ tion factors, which are given in the fifth columa, increase in going from germanium to lead, so that the extrapolated natural body burden of lead might be less than 10 mg Pb/70 kg body. Such a value agrees with that indicated by the second group of metals listed in Ta ble 3, mercury, thallium, lead, and bismuth, Here, for an approximately constant but heaviest mass, the diserimination factors are uniformly high, and a similar discrimination value for lead would yield a burden of a few milligrams Pb/70 kg body. The uni formly high discriminations exhibited for each of the heavy metals regardless of their valence suggests that the relative crustal abundances of this second series of heavy metals should be approximately reflected in the body. The abundance relations of these metals in the earth's crust and in the body suggest, by interpolation, that the nat- ‘Tasue —Abvaulances of Some Heavy Metals inthe Earth ond Body Pm in cs at Wait “Cram © of Body! farth Gaody Co Ste aus) 8a s moan sow Hy am “so aay ve mm mt Hen Osan ° Pom dow Ble “Men 04H 10 tural body burden of lead is some few milli grams Pb/70 kg body, We have arrived at this estimate through the use of three principles governing rela- tionship between metal abundances in the earth and in the body which may be sum- marized as follows: (1) Very large crustal abundance differences within a metal sub- group are approximated in the body. (2) ‘The body discriminates against the heaviest metal in a subgroup in favor of the lightest, and this modification becomes significant when crustal abundance differences within a subgroup are small, (3) Metals with heavi- est atomic masses and lowest crustal abut dances are excluded from the body with a uniformity which is relatively insensitive to group in the periodic table, so that their abundance differences in the crust are ap- proximately reflected in the body. Interest in the problem of poisoning by strontium 90 has recently led to the ac cumulation of data concerning the amounts of calcium, strontium, and barium in plants, man's diet, and in man’s body which are considerably more accurate and extensive than for any other subgroup in the periodic table. These data are presented in Table 4 and illustrate beautifully and clearly the first two principles enumerated above, even to the extent of showing the influence of com- pounded discrimination by animal products jin man’s diet. Fortunately, we can apply these valuable data to lead with great confi- dence not only because of the third principle mentioned above, but in particular because the chemistry of lead and barium are alike in many respects, so that in the body lead exhibits a great similarity in behavior to the Arch Emaivon Health Vol 11, Sept 965 LE. Tape 4 Weise (sina Po) alkaline earths with re: and mobilization from erage natural level of estimated with useful data in Table 4 is ab body. We can also estim: lead ingestion and ab same data, The avera vides about 0.7 gm C: sponds to a natural ing: This amount of lead i of vegetable and ani yield a natural concen ppm Pb in food. The = Of alkaline earths absc upon ingestion are: ium 259 ;4" and bari mentary absorption fa is similar to that for b lead naturally absorbec Ph/day, or about a th ural body burden. Thi tained for all alkaline their absolute abundan Although the calei weight of animals is calcium content of plar the calcium content of few hundredths of a p sequence of selecting tions of plants and at content, so that man’s, may be considerably re would result from int of entire plants and a for the probability, a that natural lead may whole animals, about plants, and may still uncontaminated humat 1, in an uncontamiLEAD ENVIRONMENTS OF TERSON an ance 4 arty Metals ond Lead in Max and His Environment ‘Metal fer Silion Ports of Calciuss) congo Loe ap roe) emgenc) alkaline earths with respect to deposition in tially all of the lead ingested by man origi- ‘and mobilization from the skeleton, The av- nates from food, the amounts of ingested in man which is from the tural level of Tea estimated with useful reliability data in Table 4 is about 2 mg Pb/70 kg body We can also estimate natural rates of lead ingestion and absorption from these me data. The average normal diet pro- ss about 0.7 gm Ca/day to a natural ingestion of 20y Pb/day amount of lead in 2 of vegetable and animal produets would yield a natural concentration of about 0.01 ppm Pb in food, The approximate fractions of alkaline earths absorbed by the intestine rigestion are: calcium 50%;# stron: kg of a mixture If the ali tim 2595)! and barium 59%. mentary absorption factor for fead in food s similar to that for barium, the amount of ont 1 the 2 lead naturally absorbed by man Pb/day, or about 2 thousandth o} tural body burden, This latter ratio is main: taine ine earths, regardless of their absolute ance in the borly Although, weight of animals is about 1%, calcium content of plants is only a litle less che calcium content of man’s diet is only a few hundredths of a percent. This is @ sequence of selecting for food, those po: for all all the calcium content by wet and the tions of plants and animals low in mineral content, 60 that man intake of may be considerably r that which would result from indiseriminate of entire plants and animals. This accounts for the probability, according to Table 4. that natural lead may be about 0.03 ppm in whale animals, about 04 ppm stants, and may still only be O.OL ppm in fate ‘uncontaminated nature ingestion in whole I Are air would lead originating from water an be insignificant, Studies of processes which determine the natural lead eontents of water and air can be used to cheek this possibility the concentration of lead in fresh sur- face waters during prehistorie times can be estimated from two figures: soluble lead centered the oceans during the last few hun: dred thousand years at an average rate of about 17 X 10 gm Pb/year® and today the total discharge of rivers to 37 X10" liters/year® In earlier periox this discharge may have been smaller, but a reasonable natural lead concentration estimate of the in fresh surface 1 05y Ph/liter, or waters would be ab 0.0005 ppm. In the order o' lecreasing. importance, of natural Iead in silicate dusts from na six significant source the atmosphere are ural. soils; nic halogen aerosols: canic silicate smokes; forest fire aerasolic sea salts meteoritic smokes. Contributions from the first source are ob ts oF dust in rural enteation of lead in to ann smokes and tained from measure aie ® and from the con si An upper limi rom the seco: butions source has been estimated ® and 10% of this can be assigned to an atmospheric reservoir. Contributions ante 5—Estimated Amounts of Lead in the ‘Aimasthere. Frou Natura! Sources GP o/Cu fon Health—Vol 12, Sept 1965sis LEAD ENVIRONMENTS OF MAN—PATTERSON from the third source can be estimated by assuming that 196 of the mass of lavas and pumice extruded by volcanic activity is smoke and by assigning 10% of this smoke extruded annually to the atmospheric reser~ voir. Less than 1 cu pm is extruded each year and the lead concentration is less than 10 ppm. Somewhat tess than 0.196 of exist- ing timber acreage is burned each year by lightning, and an upper limit to contribu tions from the fourth source would be obtained by burning 0.1% of the terrestrial biosphere each year, using the mass of the terrestrial biosphere " (corrected for water in cell Aids), the natural lead concentration in vegetation suggested by the data in Table 4, making no correction for wndispersed ash, and assigning 10% to an atmospheric reservoir. A total of 6 X 10% gm of sea salls are washed out of the atmosphere above land surfaces of the earth each year and are returned, via rivers, to the oceans this figure can be used to estimate natural contributions to the atmosphere from the fifth souree mentioned above. This figure can be used to typify all areas of the globe, 10% of the resulting mass can be assigned to an atmospheric reservoir, and a concen tration of 0.007 ppm Pb in sea salts? can be used to arrive at a contribution. The in- put of meteoric and metcoritie material to the earth is about 1 X 102 gem/year,# and the concentration of lead in this material is about 1X 10 ppm,®* so that an upper limit for contributions from the sixth source can be made by assigning all of this material to smoke and 10% of the mass to an atmos- pheric reservoir. The natural amounts of Teadl in the atmosphere, originating from these sources, are listed in Table 5. Tn summary, figures in this section indi- cate tht in an uncontaminated environment rman ingests about 20y Pb/dlay in food, about 0.5y Pb/day in water, and about O.0ly Pb/day in air, and possesses a burden of about 2 mg Pb/70 kg body weight Existing Lead States Listed in Table 6 are the results of three surveys of lead in foods, The mean concen. tration of lead in the first five items in British foods is about 14 ppm. In the United States, the mean in such foods is about 0.2 ppm Pb. The fraetion of the lead ingested by humans which is absorbed into systemic blood and then exereted by urine is small. That is, lead concentrations in feces yield good approximations of lead inges- tion rates, and, indirectly, concentrations of lead in foods and beverages. A survey of a large number of persons in three cities in fone state* gave a mean of 232y Pb in feces/person/24 hours, while another sur- vey of a smaller number of persons in ten other cities in the United States*® gave a mean of 398y Ph in feces/person/24 hous. The mean of these two figures corresponds to an ingestion of about 330y Pb/person/ day, because about 3% of that ingested is excreted in the urine. If this amouat of in ested lead is contained in 2 kg of food, the concentration of lead in food obtained indi- rectly from these data is about 0.17 ppm, a figure similar to that obtained by direct observation and listed in Table 6. In the United States today, the average coneentra- tion of lead in foods appears to be about 02 ppm. A conservative estimate of lead concen- trations in existing urban atmospheres, which would be applicable for plus or minus a decade, would be about 1.3y Pb/eu me: ter! That for existing rural atmospheres might be about Q05y Ph/ew meter?* An additional important contribution to re- spiratory lead exposure originates from to- bacco smoke. The average 1% packa-day cigarette smoker is exposed to about 24y Pb/day by inhalation, Taser 6-~Land in Foods From Three Sure sunstanes nesta eras) na Nak 3 008, 02 Spies a ‘3 Avol Environ Health Vol 1, Sept 1965 Pont Urban air ‘Toca soke ee) The mean concer found to be 54 ppm of ten rivers drainia North America, and draining uninhabited ppm of lead was ic solids of hundreds + lake waters.®%* The of Tead in dissolved s 50 ppm and for an a pm," this converts existing river water yield, for a mixture « face waters drawn fr 2 concentration of 0. States water supplies reports gave 0.016 | United States water + the United States W Network. yield quite lead. About 80% of persons in the United rivers ® and an ave 0.008 ppm Ph may be contamination within hrution systems may hy to about BOLL ppm bee less thas the aver actually con laminations ja the by nat been studied. ‘The foregoing date vnarize the rate at wh wgesis lead today. M metabolized, however consider the amount: the body from diffe tory absorption amos that inbaled,®* while amounts to about Using these figures, €350 LEAD ENVIRONMENTS ‘Tape 9-—Correlation Between Rates of Absorption ‘and Blood ‘Load Levete for Diferent Respiratory Exposures ‘Runt Dobie Urn Duet | Boker 1103 Vg gyy, [4] 62 (AO) | Lod by rates of absorption listed in Table 8 ave been evaluated by various investiga tors. Some estimates of the average body burdens of lead are listed in Table 10. Contaminated Lead Environments Striking differences between natural and existing lead states are 1. Existing average body burdens of lest are bout 100 times Tanger than amtural burdens 2, Existing rates of average lead absorption are about 30 times higher than natal rates, 3. Under existing conditions, atmospheric sources ly siguificant contributions to ab- sorbed lead, while suc sources make insignificant contributions waver natural eouditions, Mention has already been made of evi- dence for extensive contamination of the oceans and the atmosphere by lead fron in- dustrial sources. Now we see that a quan- fitative evaluation of possible differences between typical and natural lead levels in rman suggests that man himself is severely contaminated. Let us consider whether the various possible sources of industrial con- taminant Tead can reasonably account for existing lead concentrations in food, air, and water, If the natural concentration of lead in food is about 0.01 ppm, and the existing concentration is about 0.2 ppm, then most of this lead which amounts to some 2 x 10" gin in the total amount of Food ingested yearly in the United States, should originate from industrial sources. Since the amount of lead produced industrially in the United States each year amounts to some 1 X 10%? gm and is 30,000 times larger than the yearly amount of food lead, it must be re- garded as 2 possible major contributant 10 OF MAN—PATTERSON ingested lead. The significance of industrial lead contamination of food may be appre- ciated by considering ways in which some manufactured lead products enter food chains, and by evaluating the degree of con- tamination which results, FFoliat contamination of foad erops can be caused by fallout of decomposed lead alkyls from the atmosphere. Rapid fallout of such lead products in rural areas of the United States amounts to 24 X 10! gin Pb/year,” a quantity which is over 1,000 times’ larger than the amount ingested in food, so that contamination by only 0.1% of alkyl lead fallout on crop Iands may be significant, Stuxlies of foal contamination by fallout of strontium 9077 indicate that lead, by awalogy, may be retained against rainfall washoff to the extent of about 10% on foli- age, about 196 on fruits and pruned leafy vegetables, and 0.1% on edible parts of grains. The contamination process might consist of retention of dry fallout of par- tially soluble dusts on the waxy cuticle, fol- lowed by foliar uptake of soluble salts during subsequent rainfall and mechanical retention of insoluble salts on cuticle sur- faces. The pattem of rapid fallout of decom posed lead alkyls in rural areas consists of a network of lines, coincident with the roa network. Using a mean width of 2% i meters, the total area of this pattern (ex- cluding all_inetropolitan, primitive, unim- proved, and unsurfaced roads) is about 6 % 10% sq meters Crop lands and roads fend to coexist sway from mountain areas and forested areas, so that the lead fallout pattern tends to be superimposed on crop lands, covering about 40% of such areas in the United States? and averaging about 4 ‘Tape 10.—Total Rody-Burden of Lead iu 70 Kg Adait et crpt0m) me Ree = "Tpsiader 2g Fo to tah et, ‘Mate ete values toe Tipton ef. Arch Environ Health —Vol 11, Sept 1965 LE. X 10-* gm Pb/sq me lands, Foliage crops, wh exposure of about 50 about 3. 10 gm ero highly contaminated, at alkyl derived lead may crop. Fruits and vegetat exposure of about 50 about $10 ge contaminated by lead al O04y Ph/em crop. Gr sure of 10? days and gm crap/sq meter, may the extent of about 0.0 The total amount of metal food containers is Pb/year in the United which is 300 times larg of food lead. Different amounts of lead from si capita exposure of abe solder/day, only small solder are needed to pr ply of ingested lead, If contents of one No, 2) bined equivalent in sme ith 100 mg of tead, + solder has dissolved, entire daily supply fror taining 0.3 pin of lead observed range of lead food can solder 7° anc expect canned foods to tion of a ppm of lead 0 Lead arsenate insectie in the United States at gm Pb/year,!® which « food lead ingestion by a tase of lead arsenate has Fecent years because 0 ‘organic insecticides. In the lead arsenate used w and other food crops, wl to tobacco. Residues removed from some fre Gilute hydrochlorie acid * Fead! content below a ms level (MPL) of 7 ppm States Department of high MPL suggests that the insecticide and keepLEAD ENVIRONMENTS 10-9 gm Ph/sq meter/day for all crop lands. Foliage craps, which have an effective exposure of about 50 days and a yield of about 3X 10* gm erop/sq meter, are most highly contaminated, and concentrations of lead may average ly Pb/gm uits and vegetables, with an effective out 50 days alkyt derived crop. exposure of ab about $x and a yield of may be »/sq, meter contaminated by lead alkyls to the extent of 0.04y Pb/gm erop. Grains, with an expo sure of 10? days and a yield of 3.5% 10° contaminated to the extent of about O.01y Phys gm crop/sq meter, may b The total amount of lead solder used in metal food containers is about 7 10% gm Ph/year in the United States," a quantity 300 times larger than the amount of food lead, Different foods etch different amounts of lead from solder, but with a per capita exposure of about 100 mg lead as solder/day, ouly swall fractions of etched solder are needed to provide the daily sup- ply of ingested lead. If a person ingests the contents of one No, 244 can (or th bined equivalent in smaller cans), soldered with 10 mg of lead, and if 0.3% of the solder has dissolved, he would receive his entire daily supply from canned food com 03 ppm of lead. This is within the range of fead contaminatios and it is canned foods to contain some frac lead originating from this food can solde reasonable to expe’ tion of a Lead arsenate insecticides are ws id States at a rate of 23 X 10° which exceeds the rate of ctor of 100, The id arsenate has dec d today fa the Uni gm Pb/ye: food lead ingestion by use of le cl greatly in recent years because of competition from organic insecticides, In 1941 about 85% of ied to fruits was applied the lead and other food crops, while to tabacco.* removed from some iru dilute hydrochl id Tead content below a maximum level (MPL) of 7 ppm set by the United ies Department of ‘This high MPL. suggests that itis difficalt to use the insecticide and keep lead arsenate used was Residues of insecticide are by washing with 20 as to lower the permissible Agriculture Arch Environ Health —V. OF MAN—PATTERSON 31 a few part per million, and it is therefore to except food crops treated with lead arsenate to contain about L ppm of in- ‘The sources of food contamination dis- ceassed above are expended in a s% to a great extent are removed from further human contact by being absorbed in the clays of the land and ocean floors. There is another type of food contamination source which acts as a fixed reservoir of available lead whieh cont bleeds into food son and ously chains, and examples of this are leaded ceramics and glazes in food processing equipment and kitchenware, lead alloys in ran and sheet that are Foods food 1g equipment, lead used to manufacture chemical ised to prepare and proce: and food acids and salts, and The amount of lead used in ceramic the production of glass, cl glazes, and porcelain enamels for food proc- sig- fe because a ses, glazes, sare used for itenis unrelated to essing equipment and kitchenware nificant but difficult to estim considerable f action of such, foods. Tf one fifth of the 25 X 10! gm s related Ph/year in ceramies production * 10 fool equipment and the stor is equivalent to five years production, it 10 gmt Pb. A con- would then equal 25 siderable quantity 0 voir in food processing and manufacturing eqisipment int e form ‘of soldered joints, and brass fittings. If the size of this reservoir is 19 of the total solder and brass production for the last twe decades in the United States," the mass is 14 > 10! got in the United 3 two dec- ades, is about SX 10% gm Pb3® These reservoirs of lend are each about 1,000 times larger than the amount of lead ingested ood and may therefore contribute tially to the latter by minute abrasion The sheet lead reservoir Pb. States, accumulated during the la yearly in subst or dissolution, Tn : psence of data which would show the exact contribution of industrial lead to food, it is elear from the above examples of the amounts of lead and of exposure that industrial sources yp could reasonably account for the difference 1, Sene 1965352 LEAD ENVIRONMENTS OF MAN—PATTERSON between the existing lead concentration of 02 ppm in food and the estimated natural concentration of 0.01 ppm. Man has disturbed natural leaching condi- tions in soils through agricultural stimulation of soluble denudation, thereby increasing the salinity and lead content of surface fresh waters above natural levels, Rapid fallout and washout of lead alkyl decomposition aerosols, dispersed lead ammunition, weath ering products of lead paints, and seepage from lead metals and compounds in serap faste heaps all contribute lead 10 sur- supplies, These contributions should not affect ground waters, but surface waters supply 75% of public water utilities, which in turn, provide for about 80% of total household services and most_ potable industrial waters? Lead piping, paints, lut- ing compounds, and solder, contribute to water during its transport in distribution systems regardless of its initial purity, Lead in paints, glazes, enamels, solders, brasses, plastics, and glasses in Kitchenware, table- ware, and potable liquid dispensing ma- chines contribute lead to the water after it bras left the distribution system. Tt is estimated? that the salinity of fresh waters has increased from about 40 ppm to 150 ppm as a result of agricultural stimula: tion of soluble denudation, and that al- though the natural concentration of lead in soluble salts may have remained about 12 ppm, the total amount of Tend im fresh sur face waters may hi activity from 0.5y Ph/liter to about 2 Titer. Atmospheric washout of decomposition products of lead alkyls onto rural areas should for the most part be immediately held in the clay fraction of soil, and prob- ably makes little contribution to. surface fresh waters. The major contribution fram lead alkyls to rivers probably originates from discharge of storm sewers draining urban areas, Tf meteopolitan streets, roofs, and other surfaced drainages intercept one half of the rapid urban fallout of decomposed lead alkyls, and two thirds of this are solu- ble salts that are washed into sewers, such lead contributions about 8 X 10° gm Pb/yr, River discharge face water re been raised by this Pos at present amount to Arch Environ Heclth—Vol 11, Sept 1968 in the United States és about 18 x 10 liters/year, yielding an average concentra- tion of lead in rivers from lead alkyls sourees of about 4y Pb/liter. AS experi- ments with radioactive? Pb show, concen- trations of added lead in river waters decrease a8 a result of absorption and ex change with solid matter;?9 downstream con centrations of lead derived from lead alkyl sources are deerensed by this process. On the other hand the value of the lead alkyl contamination effect given above is low as a result of using too large a volume of water, bpecause river waters are extensively reused along short reaches oF stream bed in ur- banized areas Lead piping may be a significant source of contamination in water distribution sys- tems. If the average 1 inch I. D. service pipe, which contains 1.5 X 10° gm of lead, aulmits 6 X 10° Titers of water per year and corrodes on the inside at a rate of about 30 gm Pb/year,” the lead content of the water will be about S0y Pb/liter. It is claimed that today many of America’s greatest cities use lead pipe exclusively for water service con- nections. The lead pipe reservoir acct lated during the last four decades in the United States may be about 3.5 x 10! gm!) and may account for approximately 10% of public water utility services.*® The average per capita drinking water contribu- tion from lead water service pipes would then be about 5y Phyliter. It is evident that the difference between the concentration of 0.01 ppm of lead found jm municipal surface water supplies and the estimated natural concentration of 0.0003 ppm of lead in fresh surface waters can be accounted for as originating from rapid fallout of lead alkyl decomposition pra in cities, from lead piping, paint and alloys in water distribution systems, and from agricultural stimulation of soltble denuda- tion, There are no nationwide data con- cerning concenteations of lead in waters and beverages at the stage of consumption, but there ave ample reasons for believing’ that they may be higher, as a result of additional contamination ia the kitchen and factory, than at the stage of municipal supply. Estimates of average contribution to ur- LEA ban, atmospheres by the industrial lead—lead ale ‘and coal flyash—ean sidering the volume and urban atmosphere togetl introduction of contamin ber on a nationwide bas ‘The urban area of t1 about 6 X 10% sq mete: sion altitude of about 1 and renewal by fresh ait to vertical mixing above removal of pollutants & that the volume of the chamber is about 6 lutant aerosols may have three hours within this a for the average large ci duction into the air at lishes steep concentrat that concentrations near about twive average cor total chamber. Aerosols of decampos cr than Su in diameter, the urban chamber deser of 4 X 103° gm Ph/yea cycle because half the pa cle miles are driven in total burned lead alky verted to stable aerosols! of lead from this sow about 06y Po/ew mete heres near ground leve Urban fiyash produc States originates mainly coal by power utilities, nlls, and manufacturing 209% of this coal is ash, third leaves the boilers ® sols, less than a few n form about $% of the + the boilers and are esse by flue gas puuification terial amounts to about ‘The concentration of 1 material is about 100 p Production to urban are Of lead originating fr fhouta average 0.0001 ban atmosphLEAD ENVIRONMENTS by the principal sources of industrial lead—lead alkyls, lead paint dust, and coal Ay be by sidering the volume and rate of renewal of ban, atmos, sh—can be made by con urban atmosphere together with the rate of introduction of contaminants into this cham ber on a nationwide bas ‘The urban area of the United States is about 6 X 10 sq meter.‘ Below an inver sion altitude of about 1 kan, lateral fh and renewal by fresh air is rapid, compared to vertical mixing above this altitude and to removal of pollutants by rain washout, that the volume of the urban atmospheric chamber is about 6 10" cu meter. Pol lutant aerosols may have half-lives of about three hours within this atmospheric chamber for the average large city, and their int Auction into the air at ground level estab- lishes steep concentration gradients that concentrations near the ground nay be about twive average concent total chamber Aerosols of decomposed lead alkyls, small than Sy in diameter, are introduced into the urban chamber deseribed above at of 4X 10! gm Pb/year on cycle because half the passeng 12 hour/day moto and, of the half are cle total burned lead ally verted to stable aerosols." The concentration of lead from th should bout 0.6 Pb/ex meter in urban atmos level heres near ground Urban flyash production in the United States originates mainly from burning of by power utilities, steel mills, cement mills, and manufacturing industries.** About 2096 of this coal is ash, of which about on third leaves the boilers.® Stable flyash aero- sols, less than a few microns in diameter 9 of the mass of ash leaving the boilers and are essentially uncontrolled by flue This 18 purification devic terial amounts to about 3X 101 gm, The concentration of lead in silicate material is about 100 ppm.” Assigning all production to urban areas, the concentration lead originating from flyash aerosols should average 0.0001y Pb/est meter in ur- ban atmosphere near ground level. Coa Ich Environ Health OP MAN—PATTER: 358 fAiyash will not be inhaled and is of little significance to problems of lead ingestion, but it will affect analyses of samples ob- tained by mechanically filtering the atm phere. This material will have 2. short halt-life in urban atmospheres as a rest of rapid fallout, and in addition, about half the coarse ash is kept out of the air by fication devices so an upper limit to the average concentration of lead originating from coarse flyash in urban atmospheres neat ground level should be about 0.004y Pheu ineter During the last 40 years, 34 10% gm of Iead have been applied as paint on homes and building the United States.8 Approximately 50% of the paint is removed by weathering, abla- tion, peeling during an approximate seven-year period before the paint is pro- te nl? The rate of applica tion of leaded paints has diminished today to fifth the rate 40 years ago, so that changes in rates of application and ablation can be ignored in consideration of the total effects today from urban soils and burning buildings. Approximately one half the total paint has been applied in urban areas, and one fourth the total has been transferred to urban Accounting for streets and the area of urban soils is about elevated the concentration of Tead in the upper 5 em of arban soils from 15 ppm to 600 ppm, and if half the 0.1 mg/ cu meter of urban dust # originates from soil, this source should contribute about Ph/eu meter to urban atmospheres, Q.001y Pb, ignificant in probl s (largely on the exteriors) in buildin 2x should have 10 cu meter is of a size of lead absorption lead Contributions fram lead alkyls and paints by routes different from those out- lined above may be significant; these include Tead alkyls, secondary evaporative los transport of alkyl derived lead on as nd on smoke from incinerat ed trash, and secondary transport of lead on smoke from burning building There are no other con. paint and ated trash of lead to urban atmospheres tribution ot 11, Sepe 1965sor LEAD ENU'IRONMENTS from industrial sourees which are com: parable to those from lead alkyls, lead paints, and coal ash, Primary lead smelting ‘operations are carried out in rural areas of the United States * with the exception of a large plant in El Paso, Tex. Secondary lead refining operations contribute consid- erably less lead to the atmosphere than pri mary smelting, The difference between existing lead con. centrations in urban atmospheres of 1y Pb/ cu meter and natural concentrations of 0.0005y Pb/ew meter can be accounted for by contributions from industrial sources. Essentially all lead that is significant with respect to respiratory absorption originates from lead alkyls, ‘This brief survey shows that industrial sourees can provide the lead we absorb. Whether this is the actual ease depends upon the natural levels of lead in different ma- terials. It is virtually certain that all toxi- cologically significant amounts of lead in air originate from industry because the differ- ence between existing concentrations and inferred natural concentrations of lead ia the air is extreme and contributions from natural sources are known reasonably well ‘The same is probably true for lead in sur face waters. Figures given here will be im- proved, but the difference between existing concentrations and inferred natural concen- trations of lead in surface waters is large compared to the uncertainties of the values so that the sigan and magnitude of the ence is probably real, It is mare than possi ble that the same is also true for lead in our food. Although the abundance selationships of metals in the biosphere, their positions in the periodic table, and their abundances in the earth's crust may be unfamiliar, this does not make it improbable that these data can compel us to believe that existing lead levels in our food and bodies greatly ex- ‘ceed natural levels Tt should be possible to measure natural lead levels directly in some materials be- lieved to be free of Jead contamination. Because of the pervasive extent of contami- nation, the collection of such material is a difficult problem, The effects of contamina~ OF MAN—PATTERSON tion cannot be easily avoided by going back in time, If we go back to Pleistocene fossils the problem of chemical alteration by the action of percolating ground water becomes very complex. If we estimate natural body burdens of lead from bones or teeth of long dead persons preserved in burial vaillts, this presents the problem of environmental con- trol in its most difficult form, Significant fractions of human populations have been ‘exposed to lead contamination for thousands of years, and by choosing this, instead of contemporary material, one simply abandons verifiable conteols for virtually nonexistent historical records. This problem is not easily solved by going to different continents. There is definite evi- dence that the Indians prized and used ga~ Jena several thousand years ago in the Mississippi Valley.** The problem is not readily solved by the study of extant primi- fives. Mexican Indians near Toluca were studied in 1931 and the amounts of lead they ingested were reported to be less than one third of those ingested in the United States, but these Indians ate food prepared and served in dishes glazed with Tead, and the contributions from this and other un- natural sources are uncertain. Analyses of contemporary mammalian and plant tissues taken fram remote regions of South Amer- ica or the South Pole might be helpful, but careful consideration should be given to all possible sources of lead contamination be- fore material is collected and analyzed Foods and their environment might be ana~ lyzed a various stages of progress through contemporary production and processing chains, Some misconceptions have arisen con cerning the relative contributions of lead to turban atmospheres from different industrial sourees, It has been suggested that lead con- centrations have been reduced as a conse- quence of smoke abatement.! Data offered in support of this view are questionable be- cause the locations of sampling stations, sources of lead pollution, and filtering effi- ciencies were not controlled as a function of time. It is possible that groups of associated elements can be investigated and used to Arch Extivon Health--Vol 1, Sept 1965 Lea trace the different orig lead, ‘The association 0 salls or vanadium with Consider the atmospher ratio at times of maxi in those cities which sy a subsequent reductio Tt was about 0.04.58 to lead ratio in coal ast diserepaney of a factor it clear that flyash was lead contributor to the cities. Natural Blood We want to know wh: dens of lead lie with re toxic levels. Toxic thre: burdens of lead are less toxic. thresholis of lea the blood, so that it is v natural level of lead in age natural body burder 70 kg body, estimated bs to an average natural distributing lead in th states in the same pro taminated states. In the significant range of lea 0.05 ppm to 04 ppm w about 0.25. ppm,shBent body burden is. about body (Table 10). The a Jead levels would then & ‘We will consider brief might affect this projer Tf most of the lead is ton in contaminated s might be diminished in blood lead levels migh constant. IF this were the lod would the body burden of ral state, and would the total amount of | four-year period. This cause formed elements contain most of the bl. inated states,* are not « to acquire such large cc small rates, and_seconc contains amounts ofLEAD ENVIRONMENTS trace the different origins of atmospheric lead. The association of chlorine with sea salts or vanadium with flyash are examples, Consider the atmospheric vanadism to lead ratio at times of maximum smoke poll im those cities which supposedly experienced a subsequent reduction in atmospheric lead. Tt was about 0.04, Since the vanadiur to lead ratio in coal ash is about 100 discrepancy of a factor of over 1,000 makes it clear that flyash was inconsequenti lead contributor to the atmosphere of those Natural Blood Lead Levels We want to know where typical body bur- dens of lead lie with respect to natural and toxic levels, Toxic thresholds for tatal body burdens of lead are less readily defined than toxic thresholds of lead concentrations in the blood, so that it is useful to identify the natural level of lead in the blood. The aver: age natural body burden of about 2 mg Pb/ 70 kg body, estimated here, can be conv to an average natural blood tead level by istributing lead in the body states in the same proportic taminated significant range of lead in blood is about 0.05 ppm to 0.4 ppm with a mean value of about 0.25 ppm,*2°586 while the mean body burden is about 200 mg Pb/70. ke body (Table 10). The average natural blood lead levels would then be about 0.002% ‘We will consider briefly a few factors which might affect this projection Tf most of ates. In the United St fhe lead is stored in the skele- ton in contaminated states, this reservoir might be diminished in natural states, while blood tead levels might remain relatively constant. If this were the case, lend in the blood would comprise 709 of the body burden of lead in the natu ral state, and would be equivalent to the total amount of lead absorbed ina four-year period. This is unlikely, cause formed elements of the blood which contain most of the blood lead inated states,*" are not sufficien to acquire stich large concentrations at such the blood usually als equivalent to rates, and second, contains amounts of mi Arch Enoiron Het ete = sie OF MAN—PATTERSON 355 those absorbed during a period of a few days instead of thousands of days, jon of lead in the blood might be un control would therefore remain relatively constant. The fraction of stored ‘The concent skeletallead con of bone-erystal- face ® which involves about 19% o ined in the active po total bouy calcium and which is uliized by the bo y to maintain a strictly constant serum- available lead whose mobilization is sensitive to those factors which mobilize or inactivate caleium such as vitamin levels, parathyroid activity, acidity of the blood, and nutrition,2"* but such responses are inadvertent, as are the responses for any race element, such as. strontium," control is exerted only in respon readily for su to va iations in concentrations of the grossly abundant element, whether it be calcium in the natural state, or strontium in the experi mental state, The inadvertent mobilization or inactivation of lead by eal stasis is a secondary, and not a primary, ma homeo: controlling factor in determining blood lead Except for a tendency of the bod ject a larger fraction of an ingested trace element with an increase in the amount in sted! the £ simply to reject with relatively constant ef ficiency, Is. One ht therefore expect both the body bun oss tendency of the body is heaviest toxic my den and the blood lead level to fluctuate with estion. Lead concentra ind to reflect short Auctuations in lead absorption better Jead concentrations in the over long periods, blood lead levels increase with increased rates of absorption #26 and in natural state should vary according to dif- ferences in natural rates of ingestion, The of the latter should be small. The sig: the rate of lead i tions in the urin term than blood, but nificant range of lead in source rocks of soit is about § ppm to 25 ppm, with a mean of about in genetically effect have been | ppm, while the significant range fe primeval soils might weathering and transport and the mean fue to p it have been olonged leach: Volt, 1965356 LEAD ENVIRONMENTS OF MAN—PATTERSON ing. Extreme variations which have been mentioned for soils * may not be significant because they represent both contaminated and unnatural materials. Te has been pointed out that large populations may today be living off soils that are deleterious hecause such soils are chemically nnatural with respect to our genetic heritage There are factors which, by’ themselves, suggest that typical blood lead levels are un- naturally high. As shown in Table 9, per- sons who did not inhale large amounts of industrially derived lend exhibited grea! reduced biood leads. One may ask whether similar large in blood leads would be exhibited by rural nonsmokers if they were to ingest food uncontaminated by industrial lead. If such would he the case, and as we have seen, this is not unlikely, the remaining amount of blood lead would be very small. As mentioned earlier, in the United States the average concentration of lead in blood is 0.25 ppm, yet the threshold for classical lead poisoning has been said to be OS ppm.**#26 and most recently has been pro~ posed to he 0.5 ppm." In view of the ready Fespanse of blood lead levels to changes in rates of lead ingestion and absorpti may ask why is there so narrow a margin of safety and the body so poorly defended if natural blood levels are about 0.2 ppm. Experimental checks could be made by determining, through ingestion over rela~ tively long’ periods, the toxic thresholds of mercury, thallium, and bismuth in the blood ‘of animals, together with natural levels, since contamination by these metals from industrial sources is a problem that can be handled with some certainty. The peculiar affinity of lead for the membranes of red blood cells in the contaminated state might also be utilized as a check, Although investi- gators have studied the distribution of tead between serum and the formed elements of the blood as a function of increasing con: centration of lead, starting with the con- taminated state, no one has studied what happens as a function of decreasing amounts of ingested lead over long periods. This could be done in humans by simply search- ing ‘or and studying eases of low blood Tead levels, Controlled animal studies of lead would be difficult because of contamination problems, but it would be interesting to fol- low the distribution of mercury, thallium, and bismuth between serum and, formed elements of the blood in animals as a fume- tion of increasing metal concentration, start- ing at natural levels and ending at toxic thresholds and secing whether the distriba- tion changes with concentration. Chronic Lead Insult ‘The latest view of existing lead states in this country, officially sanctioned by the United States Department of Health, Edu- cation and Welfare, is that they“... are well within the presently accepted range of ead levels for humans and are not signifi- cant in ferms of a threat of the occurrence of lead intoxication... .”® This view has prevailed in the state and the Federal Public Health Services for decades. It is based upon a threshold for damage concept which has been applied to industrial work- ers, and which involves the axiom that worker must be either perfectly healthy or classically intoxicated with lead but cannot be neither. This is a seriously unfortunate situation for the following reasons An average level of 0.25 ppm of lead in the blood of our population fails by an or- der of magnitude to provide an adequate margin of safety even from classical lead poisoning when the crudely significant range of lead levels in our population lies between 0.05 and 04 ppm and the threshold for acute lead intoxication lies in the uncertain range of 0.5 to 08 ppm, ‘The above acceptance of typical lead lev- els in humans in the United States today as normal and therefore safe or natural is founded on nothing more than an assump- tion that these terms are equivalent. No ac~ ceptable evidence exists which justifies this assumption. On the contrary, as this report shows, such an assumption may be in gross error. The 0.25 ppm level of fend in the blood, which has been and is still re- garded with ill-founded! complacency, actu- ally seems to lie between an average natural Arch Environ Heolth Vol 1, Sept 1965 LE level of about 0.002 pp threshold of 0.5 to O8 clearly and strongly t! dent of the United Sta t severe chronic lead ‘The threshold for d applies to lead, is an il supported by any evide to date about classics largely clinical and usually applies ¢0 comb periods of lead absorpt lead concentrations e ppm, Changes in cell n sult from lead poisor throughout the body, be nized as being specific is known of the meck them. The evidence is for some lesions or alte which either have not » have not been assigned origins, to result fro which correlate with b tions considerably abov less than 0.5 ppm, ie, of 02 ppm which now States Economie pressures sure to lead should be into suitable balance by populations unafflicted These latter pressures a thorough understand: Tead metabolism, but th does not exist today a slowly. Tt would be tra froin now, it were reco, lated evidence that larg lations in ours and suffered needless dl use early warning sig nized in this report we ‘This crucial problem concern to some toxico Hams, for example, sai phasized too strongly 1 amount of lead which as negligible in food, toxic limits, so far as the appearance of symlevel of about 0. ld of OS clearly dent of the United States is being subjected to severe chronic lead insult and an aente Joxie 10 O8 pal 1d strongly. tha This suggests the average re ‘The threshold for damage concept, as it applies to lead, is an ill-defined opinion un supported by any evidence. Our knowledge to date about classical lead poisoning. is largely clinical and morphological, and it ustally applies to combinations of rates and periods of lead absorption which yield blood to 08 1s in cell morphology which re lead concentrations exceeding 0. n. Cha sult from lead poisoning are widespread throughout the nized as being specific for lead and nothing is known of the mechanisms which cause them. The evidence is therefore permissive for some lesions or altered cell metabolisms, which either have not yet been identified or have not been assigned to exchisive nonlead orig lead_absorptions Which correlate with blood lead concentra- fons considerably above a natural level, but Jess than 0.3 ppm, ie, with ty of 0.2 ppm which now exist in the United rly, but most are not recog result from cal levels, tes, expo sure to lead should be oppos into suitable balance by for healthy populations unaffected by lead poisoning. These latter pressures will originate from a thorough understanding of mechan lead metabolism, but this kind of knowledge does not exist today slowly. I and will be acquired would be tragie if, many decades sd from a lated evidence that large segments of popu from now, it were recogni: cat fations in ours and. other nations had suffered needless disability and torment cause early warning si like those recog: nized in this report went unheede This crucial problem has been a matter of concern to some toxicologists, Monier-Wil Tiams, for example, said “It cannot be em phasized too strongly that in discuss amount of lead which may be considere as negligible in food, consideration of ‘the toxic limits, so far as these are defined by the appearance of symptoms of poisoning, Arch Environ Health ONMENTS OF MAN beside the point, and tends to obscure the real question. What we want to know is not so much the toxic limit, as the safe any limit, however small, for 4 cumulative poison can be regarded a: fe, We cannot assume that dividing Tine between what is obviously toxic, giving rise to lead colic or other symptoms, and what is completely harmless. Tn all probability there is a range of lead intake between the how upon metabolism, effects which, ‘wo extremes in whieh some effec are produced er sli clinically, may be dificult or impossible to detect or to ascribe to their real cause. ..."* The basic danger involved in lead polly wis not simply that, in common with some other kinds of technological fi may bring agony into our existence a shorten our lives. The course of hi events is determined by the activities of the mind, Intellectual irritability and disfunction are associated with classical lead poisoning, and it is possible, and in my opinion probs: ble, that similar impairments on but still significant scale mig! to severe chronic les has recently been miaintained, 8 subjecte insult. It fon the bat animals! that pathologic and_ histologic changes of the brain and spinal co ether with functional shifts in the higher fous activity are induced by exposures to atmospheric lead concentrations corre sponding to those exposures. now enced by dwellers in m of experimental evidence f st large American ese Russian investigations have been outed ® by the same is largely responsible ined above in aph of this section. Eco factors together with disparaged and type of for the rerson wh jews 0 he opening, ie and experi mental uncertainties are involved here, but it cannot be denied that these kinds of in vestigation should occupy a legitimate and vital place in the research programs spon sored by the United States Health Service. Their absence is conspicuous and disgusting Civilizations and natio ave waxed and waned, The Romans conquered Britain and Gaul partly to satisfy their demands for Vol 11, Sept358 LEAD ENVIRONMENTS OF MAN—PATTERSON lead, which they used on a large scale to store and distribute potable liquids, for oint ments and medicine, and to sweeten wines. In the last century, lead has been used in notoriously unhealthy ways on vast scales in Germany, France, and England. It is inter- esting and not at all unworthy to consider how the course of history may have been and is now being altered by the effect of lead contamination upon the human mind, Summary ‘There are definite indications that resi- dents of the United States today are under going severe chronic lead insult, The aver- age American ingests some 400. of lead per day in food, air, and water, a process which has been viewed with complacency for decades, Geochemical relationships and material balance considerations show that this ingestion of about 20 tons of lead per year on a national basis is grossly excessive compared to natural conditions. It probably originates from the L anillion tons of lead dispersed yearly in such forms as lead alkyls, lead arsenates, and food can sober, and from the many millions of tons of lead accumulated throughout past decades and stored as paints, alloys, piping, glazes, and spent ammunition, Existing rates of lead absorption are about 30 times higher than inferred natural rates, yielding body burdens of about 200 mg Pb/70 kg body, and blood concentrations of 0.25 ppm Pb, which values are about 100 times above inferred natural levels of 2 mg Pb/70 kg body anch 0.0025 ppm Pb in blood. Existing blood lead con- centrations have for decades been regarded as natural, although it is well known that the average value lies only slightly below threshold levels for classical lead poisoning which are 0.5 10 O8 ppm Pb. It appears that the following activities deserve serious consideration and support: defining natural and toxic lead levels with greater care than in the past; investigating deleterious effects of severe chronic lead insult; investigating the dispersion of industrial lead into food chains; climination of some of the most serious sources of lead pollution, such as lead alkyls, insecticides, water service pipes, kitchenware glazes, and paints a reevaluation by persons in positions of responsibility in the field of public health of their role in this matter food ean solder, tod Prt Aete Hate Sy Cain state sak piel cen sale rl ne kee REFERENCES igeuce ef Lend Loe" in Feo Sellen Coe she Cock iw at te ian of Commen Lead tn ‘Sew Water” in Gets nd fe cle" Eo 'Srvr ont Nee, A "E. 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Maso Bt Priifiy of Geurhowirs, New York Jol Wiley & So, Tn, 8, 16; Ca atthe srtace of the car's crust ie Abundance of Tia, Gevehin Coomochi Acta 12:20, 188 sed Barnion, Vis The Goehemity of Tin, Greene, 1, Rasas, Xan San, 7.6: Gossow, Ch 3h, Hei ears eas ana DS a Ghigedanise VAT The Laws of te Geesenicl Dip atone te Beats, Phe Abus of thr Lemont ore Videshaps iad Ori st Nat. lass, No ie Shay, Dales Te Ceachenty of Calon, Taian, Thal ee Cava Avch Esrizon Heolth—-Vol If, Sept 1965 Blin ers ern iad cape et Reed see 2 ge le sh yon Zi, Co, He, tn agg We ho nt bee eects Wcnteld, Gs bietaatem e830" et apt fee te tian oly ren ies ‘ime alu! e'me Geto We “He Sone amentatons tulden Use tan and ae BAe cuouie teal Set Stayt the Ned ‘Ransee Trace Meats in Bideg 15 ee tay har teen found it 26 Tia hae aot ben of the bod Utne uppr it forsee teed ag) is tha oly ‘Strontium, Geachent Casmacis Rowen te dD aa Plt at Ss Disase. Placa 3 Rivera) ‘sey Tsbratry Fao tre Us ABE Het Slee TE Scab en De itis Siatonery OR 18 Teen Ay W. omen Fete oF Soni won igh FRO" neprment Si Haren Do at Cp ‘Somdety At, aa St Comet oh Sen Mugsciogy “of Caio lets {8° Cage, Ci, and Wager sy Che Sa anaes “Canam ‘ontaminatin ron’ Weevag Faber he inece an Othe Conus 1? Site, US" Degen « Pints 106. Depaeoene of Car non! US Govetnnent Bening ‘Paris for Exes T 45, Reed, GW. Kies K. Matcriten Geoin CoomaAD ENVIRONMENTS OF Neate ats wal Bose, bee toe Ce/i0 be) of Germania, Arch Bis MAN—PATTERSON ‘cheats J ad Se Sri 5.2 Almera Trace sempling Neturds Pate Heath Sere et, EJ: The Water Quality SMe Bowen, HTM. and Dymo Entry,” Caldecott, RS. and Siar Say Pe Roy Savage lee™. pes on ops, et Dee, Scr arn i Fa oe Sane Po octet neat is ig pie See Calg ie Utd St wan Arch Enciron Heath ikon de Nemnat © Go ol 11, Sept 1965Ta Midleton, Le lo Anges aie Plate Found ASsoaphere Palen Ail Arch Puvivon Health Vol 11, Sept 1965