At the height of global warming, as the world has been for quite some time now, pollution has been high which has contributed to the global warming evident today. There are many pollutants in the environment with most of them caused by human activities primary due to the poor regulations, industrialization, and negligence among the firms in their disposals. The aim of this report is to analyze a pollutant, review its toxicity, regulations on the levels that are safe, and determine whether the pollutant is a carcinogen or no carcinogen. The paper intends to analyze lead, a natural occurring metal in the earth’s crust but is usually combined with other elements to form either organic or inorganic compounds (American Cancer Society, Inc. 2014). The organic compounds are not termed as toxic since they are in solid form and cannot be broken down into small components but the inorganic compounds for example, lead chloride, and lead oxide among other components are smaller and toxicants evident in water and air.
The use of lead in paint, in gasoline, perfumes, plumbing, and food containers may have been prohibited in 1980s and early 1990s but the old houses still have the leaded paints and plumbing leading to the exposure of lead for the children and adults (American Cancer Society, Inc. 2014). Most of the lead is used to lead battery production. Plumbing is the main reason for water contamination whereas the most of the inorganic compounds are airborne resulting in the pollution of air. According to multiple studies, small levels of inhaled or swallowed lead contents are not toxic to the human body whereas high levels of the toxicant are toxic. According to NIOSH immediately dangerous to life health concentration is 100 mg/m 3 whereas NIOSH recommended exposure limit for 8 to 10 hours for workers in lead factories being 0.05mg/m 3 demonstrating that exposure much higher is dangerous (NIOSH, 2007).
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Lead contamination in either air or water is known to be toxic to the human body with adults more likely to suffer headaches, memory loss, and tremors but data demonstrate it has more adverse effects on children’s brains, kidney, and irreversible nervous damages. There have been studies trying to determine whether lead is a carcinogen or causes cancer. The studies have led to mixed results with some claiming that the inorganic compounds are carcinogens for lung cancer due to the high rates of lung cancer among the lead factory workers (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2004).
Lastly, several lab studies indicate that on exposure to high lead dosage or environment, rats developed lung cancer but the DNA in cells have demonstrated that lead affects the DNA in a much different way than carcinogens react on the cells. The mixed results calls for more studies to determine whether lead is a carcinogen or non-carcinogen although the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the International Agency for research on Cancer (IARC) classify inorganic lead compound as carcinogenic when inhaled or ingested in high quantities (American Cancer Society, Inc. 2014). Inorganic lead compounds are also associated with stomach and kidney tumors, but the evidence is not decisive.
References
American Cancer Society, Inc. (2014). Lead . Cancer.org . Retrieved September 1, 2017, from https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/lead.html
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (2007). NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards . http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npg.html.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2004). Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) on Lead and Compounds (Inorganic) . National Center for Environmental Assessment, Office of Research and Development, Washington, DC
