About Lead in the Workplace

Why it's an issue

Lead is a metal that is most commonly used in construction, mining, and manufacturing.

If you work near lead-containing products or materials, you may not know you are being exposed. Exposure to lead can cause health problems.

Health effects

The health effects of lead are the same whether lead particles are breathed-in, swallowed, or absorbed through your skin.

In adults, exposure to high levels of lead may cause:

• Anemia
• Kidney and brain damage
• Infertility in both men and women
• Death

Other health effects of lead exposure

Cancer

Many believe that lead can cause cancer.123

Nerve damage

Lead can impact nerve function in your body.

Hearing damage

Lead exposure has been found to impact the hearing system. Some scientists think exposures to lead AND noise together can damage hearing to an even greater degree than hearing loss caused by loud noise exposures alone.

Heart disease4

Research shows the risk of dying from heart diseases, such as heart attack or stroke, is 2 to 5 times higher among people with higher blood lead levels. This relative risk is the same or higher than the risk of heart disease death associated with smoking, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension.5

High risk populations

If you work near lead, you can bring home lead dust on your clothes, shoes, and hair, among other things. This puts your family at risk.

Pregnant people

If you are exposed to lead when pregnant, you may also expose your unborn child. This is because lead can cross the placental barrier. Lead can damage a developing baby's nervous system6. It can also cause miscarriage and stillbirths.78

Children

Lead poisoning has happened in children whose parents accidentally brought home lead dust on their work clothes and other personal items.

Children tend to show signs of severe lead toxicity at lower exposure levels than adults. However, most children with lead in their blood have no obvious symptoms.

A blood test is the easiest way to determine if a child has been exposed to lead. Talk to your child's healthcare provider about getting a blood lead test.

Lead is stored and released

Your body does not need lead to survive, but your body still stores it. Lead can be found in your blood and other tissues, but 90% is stored in your bones.

As you age, your bones often weaken and become less dense. Aging often moves minerals out of bone and into other areas of your body. Lead stored in your bone, sometimes for decades, may then be released into your blood. If this happens, lead can reach and possibly harm other organ systems in your body.

Many women undergoing menopause experience these changes. Post-menopausal women have been found to have higher blood lead levels (BLLs) than pre-menopausal women.910