Consumer Products and
Lead Exposures:
Vision for a Lead-Safe World
Incorporating the presentation given by Michelle Calvert at
“Eliminating Childhood Lead Toxicity in Australia – A Little is Still
Too Much” Forum at Macquarie University on 5th June 2012.
Presentation by Elizabeth O’Brien, President, The LEAD Group,
Vision for a Lead-Safe World
Lead levels and cause of
death
Lead levels and cause of death
“A study published in the American Heart Association Journal “Circulation”
tracked 13,946 adults for 12 years, comparing lead levels and cause of
death. It found that those with a level between 3.6 µg/dL and 10 µg/dL were
two and a half times more likely to die of a heart attack than those with very
low levels [under 1.9 µg/dL], 89% more likely to die of stroke, and 55% more
likely to die of cardiovascular disease.”
Standards for lead in consumer products, in food and drinking water and ‘environmental media’, will also need to be
made more stringent.
Lead levels permitted in all products and the action levels for lead abatement have to become more stringent.
Consumer products containing lead generally affect people of all ages
Rome’s Ruin by Lead Poison
Sumerian Makeup Box
Sumerians used leaded lipstick and eye makeup
Depiction of a Sumerian woman
applying makeup
Well-to-do Romans added lead to wine
Leaded pewter
consumer products
old and new
Study Concludes Beethoven Died From Lead
Poisoning
Lead crystal armonica
In 1828, Goya also
likely died of lead
poisoning
Goya: Saturn devouring
one of his Children
Men and their white-skinned prostitutes in a late
19th century French brothel.
[Scene from the 2011 movie L'Appollonide (Souvenirs de la Maison Close),
known in English as House of Tolerance, directed by France's Bertrand Bonello.
[ http://eyeswiredopen.blogspot.com.au/ ]
Standard Oil
Refinery, ‘House
of Butterflies’ in
Bayway, New
Jersey, 1924.
Poster advertising
“Ethyl”: i.e. Tetra Ethyl
Lead (TEL) containing
gasoline
Petrol “ With
Ethyl”; TEL,
anti-knock
compound
Leaded petrol phase out saves over
US$2.4 trillion
“A comprehensive study has confirmed
that the phase out of leaded petrol
contributes US$2.4 trillion (4% global
GDP) to the global economy; this
monetary saving is calculated by
measuring social benefits such as
heightened IQ levels and reduced
criminality, as well as health savings
from afflictions such as cardiovascular
disease. This global effort to end the
use of leaded petrol also translates to
1.2 million fewer deaths per year.”
[Reference:
http://www.unep.org/transport/PCFV/n
ews/hatfield.asp ] ]
Perth Declaration for the Global Reduction of Childhood Lead Exposure
Lead as a colorant or to add weight to food
Leaded
kohl
eye
make-up
Leaded
turmeric
NEWS
headlines!
Lead laced
Marijuana
producing
sociopaths?
A child disassembles a spent truck battery on the sidewalk
Hazardous battery recycling on the streets of New Delhi.
A child disassembles a spent truck battery on the sidewalk
to sell lead to unregistered recycling units.
[ www.okinternational.org/ ]
Lead in paint
Leaded house paint –
still available for purchase today
by 2.5 billion earthlings
Lead arsenate pesticide
Petrol / Gasoline Lead
A global ban on leaded petrol / Gasoline
Soldered Food Cans
Control of lead in children’s consumer products
Indian made lead containing
charm toys
photo of leaded toy tortoise that one
of our volunteers purchased in
India
RECALLED PRODUCTS (US)
Girls
dresses
with
leaded
beads
Leaded tea
glasses
Furniture sold with
leaded paint
Leaded
painted
Piggyback
Leaded
Bracelets
Heart-shaped charm which caused a child lead poisoning death in
the US
Leaded ceramicware is still a major source
of lead exposure
Other consumer products and waste and recycling
Bullet Disintegrating in Flight
The Green Machine
Green Machine collects lead bullets
from shooting ranges for recycling
European legislation is leading the push for lead-free electronics and
electrical appliances
Leaded PVC
copper cable
recycling in
Ghana
Each CRT
contains
8 kg of lead
Cigarettes
Warning regulations are also essential for some non-leaded products
which can be used to create lead hazards
Global lead use in: 1970
Global lead use in: 1990
Global lead use in: 1990’s
Lead Use in 1990's. OECD Demand by end use Category
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Miscellaneous
Gasoline Additives
Cable sheathing
Alloys
shot and ammunition
Pigments and other Compounds
Rolled and extruded products
Batteries
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
Today more than 80% of world lead is in
batteries, and the trend is towards 100%
Lead foil on wine bottle
Cronkshaw lead-free logo.jpg
‘Subsport’ is a database of substitutes for various chemicals, including
451 lead-based chemicals.
http://www.subsport.eu/
ARA (soon to be renamed
Enirgi Metals) at Alexandria
RMT at Wagga WAgga
Renewed Metals Technology (RMT) plant at Wagga Wagga
Lead batteries are not the only use of lead in vehicles
The Environmental Cost of One car
page 10 of the Sydney Morning Herald on
Tuesday, August 3rd 1993
Oil production has already peaked in non-OPEC, non-former
Soviet Union countries
This graph shows that oil production has already peaked in
non-OPEC, non-former Soviet Union countries.
A car causes more pollution before it’s ever driven
The Environmental Cost of One Car % per life-stage of cubic metres of polluted air produced
0%
Extracting Raw Material
922000000 m3
7%
5%
Transporting Raw Material
425000000 m3
Producing The Car 75000000
m3
Driving The Car 1000 m3
28%
60%
Disposing Of The Car
102000000 m3
Coffee, herbs and
vegetables in pots in
home garden
Rainwater tank
and clean soil
vegetable beds
Grapefruits on tree in home garden
Vegetable attacked by pests
Fruit tree with netting
Ride your bike
more and don’t
buy a car
The future of road transport
The future of air travel
Passenger aircraft fuselages reused by turning them into highspeed railway cars
Solar Roadway
Partially solar-powered gondola lift in Colombia
Pear-shaped Earth
A lead-knowledgeable World - a
Lead-Safe World
Lead-Safe World
Project
Watch this site:
www.leadsafeworld.com
The National Painting and Decorating Institute (NPDI)
The National Painting and Decorating
Institute (NPDI)
is the peak educational body for the
painting industry in Australia and the
Pacific. It is supported by Registered
Training Organisations, and has
introduced lead paint abatement
training to the NT, NSW, QLD and WA;
and soon on-line for painters anywhere
in the world.
ADRA is the first national
ceiling dust removalists’
association in the world.
The LEAD Group’s DIY-sampling lab-test kits
Four videos showing how to use The LEAD Group’s
DIY-sampling lab-test kits are available on YouTube:
1.Introduction
2.Test Kit Instruction - Part 1
3.Test Kit Instruction - Part 2
4.Test Kit Result Discussion
Acknowledgements
•Thanks to the following for their
information, advice and support in
writing this presentation:
•Anne Roberts, Zac GethinDamon, Hims Patel, Ardhika Wira,
Chris Winder, Paul Kesby
(DSEWPaC), Daniel Wurm (NPDI),
Gavin Clarke (ADRA), Ian Smith
and Michelle Calvert.