The New Straits Times, November 29, 1996
Q: Recently, I read of a study conducted by the National Poison Centre about lead poisoning among schoolchildren. Could you elaborate on the sources and dangers of lead poisoning? What are the precautions that I can take?
A: Lead is readily available in nature. It is a natural constituent of the earth's crust and many be found in soil, vegetation and drinking water. It has also been used for many other commercial and industrial purposes.
If improperly used, it can enter and re-enter the human environment and can be potentially hazardous. In view of this, the study conducted by the National Poison Centre, in conjunction with Yayasan Sabah, was to estimate the level of exposure of lead to schoolchildren across Sabah.
The study focused on schoolchidren because children usually run the greatest risk of being affected as lead is easily incorporated into their growing bodies.
Lead's accumulation in growing bodies could disrupt the normal growth pattern of cells. Children have also been shown to absorb a higher percentage of ingested lead than adults.
It is estimated that 50 per cent of ingested lead is absorbed in children as compared to 10 per cent in adults.
The absorption in children is even higher if the child is malnourished, for example, deficiency in calcium and iron.
In other words, when a child is exposed to the same amount of lead as compared with an adult, the potential damage is even greater.
Younger children are more vulnerable due to their 'hand-to-mouth' attitude since they tend to put almost anything into their mouth.
Other low sources of lead that may be intimidating to children include food and drinking water. They are also at risk of ingesting lead-based paint as well as lead-bearing soil and house-dust contamination.
Dust and soil in children's play area that are contaminated principally by automotive exhaust and deterioration f old pain may contribute to the immediate source of lead.
In more polluted areas where lead content of dust is much higher, it is often associated with a significant elevation in children's blood lead levels.
When dust and soil are the only sources of exposure to lead, symptoms of lead poisoning are rarely encountered. In such cases, the accumulation of smaller amounts of lead for longer periods in the child's body may result in damage that does not become visible until the child is old enough to communicate.
