Toy Recalls and Lead Poisoning

As Christmas is fast approaching and so many toys having been recalled so far this year for violation of lead paint standard, there is a risk that some consumers wanting to please children would ignore recent toy recalls for popular toys. We have been told so often, particularly this year, that toys made with lead-based paint are dangerous and can give children lead poisoning but so far, nobody explained to me the exact reasons why lead may pose a health hazard to our children. This led me to do some research on lead poisoning and its effects on our health.

Historians date the first use of lead at about 6500 BC, when it was mined in Turkey. In the past, lead has been used to produce jewellery, eating and drinking utensils, makeup, and lead acetate - which is a sugar made from lead - was used to sweeten wine. More recently, lead was used in pipes to circulate water. Nowadays, we use lead in lead-based paint, bullets and some engine fuels, although this last use of lead is disappearing as most countries now only use unleaded gasoline.

Lead can enter our bodies by ingestion; it can be found in drinking water in old houses with plumbing systems using lead pipes, flakes of lead-based paint can come off the walls of a house and be eaten by babies and toddlers. It is thought than George Frederic Handel died from saturnine gout due to lead content in port wine; children who put toys in their mouths and teething toddlers who chew painted window-sills are at risk of lead poisoning as well.

Lead can also be inhaled; dust produced by deteriorating lead-based paint causes a hazard to occupants of old houses so when deciding to renovate, it is important to wear suitable protection. Workers in lead mines are also at a great risk of contracting lead poisoning.

Lead can enter blood through skin and although Venetian ceruse (a skin whitening cosmetic made from white lead used in the 16th century by Elisabeth I of England) is not being used anymore, Kohl imported from Middle-East, India, Pakistan and some African countries contain lead and using it can cause lead poisoning by entering the mucous membranes around the eyes.

Bullets entering skin can cause lead poisoning, although the victim is more likely to suffer from the wound than lead poisoning.

When lead is present in a human body, it becomes a parasite, in the way that it imitates other metals contained in our bodies, such as calcium, zinc or iron, but its interactions with proteins and molecules are different, preventing the body from producing some enzymes that are necessary to proper biological functions.

As well as being potentially fatal, lead poisoning can cause a wide range of symptoms, some that affect the brain, such as reduced cognitive abilities, nausea, abdominal pain, irritability, insomnia, a metal taste in the mouth, excess lethargy, hyperactivity, headaches or even seizures and coma. It can also affect the gastrointestinal system, with constipation or diarrhoea, vomiting, appetite decrease, weight loss or colic. It can also cause anaemia, kidney or reproductive problems.

Lead can also be transmitted from pregnant women to foetuses. Scientists have shown that early lead exposure in children can be associated with extreme learning disabilities and an American study conducted in the 1960's on pregnant women and their babies found that children who had been exposed to lead in the womb were more likely to present signs of schizophrenia.

Some shoppers may have grown immune to the numerous toy recalls that have been issued recently but the risks of lead poisoning should not be ignored and I hope that this year, Santa will only give children toys that are lead-free.

For more details on toy recalls and the dangers of lead poisoning, you can visit the following website: www.leadfreetoylist.com/