Sources of lead during pregnancy and protecting your baby

I think this topic is important and worth spending some more time on, so here goes:

Lead has a half life of 25 years, so it stays around a long time. Your body stores lead in the bones, brain, and teeth. For women, this means that when we are exposed to lead as children, we then expose our children during pregnancy. Pregnancy causes bone loss which releases stored lead back into the bloodstream where it crosses the placenta to the growing baby. A study comparing maternal blood levels during each trimester of pregnancy with cognitive development of the child for the first two years of life concluded that fetal lead exposure does have a negative impact on the neurological development of the child and lead exposure during the first trimester seems to have the most impact.

This is certainly scary information for anyone thinking of having children. There are steps you can take to protect your baby. Calcium prevents bone loss, but you need to up your calcium intake before you get pregnant if possible to protect your baby during the most vulnerable window. You can take a calcium supplement or pay special attention to consuming natural sources of calcium. If you are vegan or don't consume dairy, you can eat kale, blackstrap molasses, collard greens, and turnip greens.(For a longer list of calcium rich foods, please see the resources.) You can also have your blood lead level checked before and during pregnancy. Be sure to talk to your practitioner if you have questions or concerns about your lead level during pregnancy.

Resources:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.htm
http://leadonthebrain.blogspot.com/2012/02/lead-in-breast-milk-and-during.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1665421/

Time to band together to ban Lead bullets

This Condor has been released back into the wild after chelation therapy to treat lead poisoning

Over 100 environmental organizations have filed a petition with the EPA asking the agency to ban lead shot used in hunting. Their petition estimates that up to 20 millions birds die every year from ingesting lead shot in the US alone. This includes swans, bald and golden eagles, condors, and over 70 other species. This is a national tragedy and a totally preventable one. With an alternative available, there just is no excuse for this to continue.

The use of lead shot for hunting water fowl was banned nationwide in 1991 due to lead poisoning deaths among water fowl and bald and golden eagles. Lead was a primary factor in the decline of the California condors in the 1980's and remains a threat to their recovery. California took steps to limit the use of lead to hunt big game and other mammals in 2008. Both these measures have produced positive results, but it isn't enough. The California measures need to be adopted nationwide.

Resources:
http://www.lead.org.au/lanv10n3/lanv10n3-1.html
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/03/25/2082149/up-to-20m-birds-eat-lead-die-per.html
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunting/condor/
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0017656

Flouridated water contributes to lead poisoning

I came across an interesting study published in 2010 about the combined effects of lead and fluoride. Most water supplies in the US and a lot of our food supply is fluoridated. Dr. Sawan and his team used rats to study the effect that fluoride has on lead absorption. They divided the rats into groups and gave them different combinations of lead and fluoride and lead or fluoride alone. They found the highest levels of lead in the teeth and the bones of rats exposed to fluoride together suggesting that fluoride aids the body in absorbing lead. I also found the results from three other studies by Macek (2006) and Masters and Coplan (2000, 2007) that found higher levels of lead in silico-fluoridated communities and higher blood levels of lead in children in fluoridated communities where lead is already present in the environment. 

Another explanation for the correlation between higher levels of lead and fluoridated water supplies are the types of chemicals typically used in municipal water systems known as fluorosilicates. These fluorosilicates have a special relationship with lead. They are commonly used in industrial applications as solvents to remove surface lead from leaded-brass machine parts. So, what does that mean for all of us drinking the water? Fluorosilicates cause more lead to leach from the pipes, fixtures, and faucets and be passed on to you and your children. 


resources:
http://www.enviroblog.org/2009/07/recipe-for-a-toxic-brew-lead-pipes-fluoride-and-disinfectants.html
http://www.joaoaquila.com/2012/03/Limit-Fluoride-to-Prevent-Lead-Poisoning-study-says/
http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/article_28eb9c0a-c250-11e0-93a4-001cc4c03286.html
http://www.freedrinkingwater.com/water_health/health2/18-08-flouride-problems-lead-leaching-plumbing.htm
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Limit+Fluoride+to+Prevent+Lead+Poisoning,+Study+Says.-a0221218249
R.D. Masters and M. Coplan. “Brain Biochemistry and the Violence Epidemic: Toward a ‘Win-
Win’ Strategy for Reducing Crime” Super-Optimizing Examples: Across Public Policy
Problems, Stuart S. Nagel, ed., Nova Science Publishers, Inc, New York (1999).
R.D. Masters and M. Coplan. “Water Treatment with Silicofluorides and Lead Toxicity,”
Intern. J. Environmental Studies 56, 435-449 (1999).
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/htdocs/chem_background/exsumpdf/fluorosilicates.pdf

Please consider signing this petition

I wanted to share this petition asking that the budget for Lead Poisoning Prevention be restored.

http://www.change.org/petitions/president-obama-restore-funding-to-help-lead-poisoned-children-2

Funding for Lead Poisoning Prevention cut

Funding for the CDC's Lead Poisoning Prevention Program have just been cut by 94%. I can not adequately express how angry this makes me. In January, two expert bodies recommended that the level of concern for blood lead levels be cut in half, possibly quadrupling the number of children officially effected by lead and what is the response? Decimate the funding for the CDC's program. The budget for the CDC's lead prevention programs went from $29.2 million last year to $2 million this year. This money goes to local health departments to fund, education, testing, and data collection. It really worries me what this will do to the availability of services. It is already very difficult to get help in many areas and there is much work to be done on the education side of things as well. A recent study showed that for every dollar invested in lead paint hazard control, there is a return of $17 to $221 or a net savings of $181 to 269 billion. That is huge. If we invest in prevention, we save a huge amount of money down the road. According to Ruth Ann Norton, the Executive Director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, kids effected by lead are 7 times more likely to drop out of school, earn less money, cost more in taxpayer dollars, and provide less in tax revenue. Bleak predictions for my little guy and the millions like him.



Resources:
http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/info:doi/10.1289/ehp.0800408
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/about/program.htm
http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(12)00002-6/fulltext
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/lead-poisoning-prevention-funding_n_1354205.html
http://www.thedailyactivist.com/social-issues-cdc-lead-prevention-budget-drops/
http://leadsafeillinois.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/cuts-to-lead-poisoning-prevention-program-nbc-nightly-news/ 
http://grist.org/pollution/get-the-lead-out-have-we-already-forgotten-this-lesson/

New Lead Threshold Recommended

The Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention recommended on January 5, 2012 that the CDC lower the level of concern for lead from 10 micrograms to 5 micrograms. The NIH also recently endorsed lowering the threshold. While I am encouraged by this recommendation, I am skeptical that it will make any difference. The CDC has known for several years that an overwhelming amount of research shows damage from lead exposure at levels down to 2 micrograms. What have they done about this? Well they made a nice little FAQ page on their website addressing all the reasons that they are not going to lower the level of concern even though they are aware of the research. It is estimated that if they lower the level, lead poisoning diagnosis will go from 250,000 cases to as many as 1,000,000. That number is staggering. One million children with cognitive delays, memory and attention issues, and other learning disabilities a year! One million children born healthy and irreversibly damage by their environment. One million children like my sweet little boy. We need more awareness of this issue and more safeguards in place. We need better laws on testing imported toys and dishware and more consequences when lead is found in these items. There needs to be protection for renters and buyers of older homes as well and more financial help with professional lead abatement.

Lead Disclosure Legal Requirements - US

In 1992, a law was passed that requires sellers and landlords of certain pre 1978 housing to make certain disclosures about known lead dangers in the home they are selling or renting. Basically, people selling or renting a home built in 1977 or earlier must tell you if they know that there is lead based paint in the home. They must also provide you with the pamphlet titled "Protecting Your Family from Lead in Your Home" and any available written reports.   Home buyers also have to be given a 10 day period to conduct a lead assessment at their own expense.

There are several types of housing exempt from this requirement:

• Efficiencies, lofts, and dormitories
• Housing for the elderly (unless children live there)
• Housing for the handicapped (unless children live there)
• Leases for less than 100 days (short term and vacation rentals)
• Rental housing that has been inspected by a certified Lead paint inspector and found to be lead free
• Foreclosure sales (including HUD REO sales where the seller is Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Rural Housing Services, other state, local, or Federal agencies.)

The law does not require landlords or sellers to actually do anything about the Lead. It also does not require them to test for lead. This requires notification of known lead based paint or disclosure that the home was built before 1978 only.

In my experience, this can be very important. In my rental home that I shared pictures of our lead testing in a previous post, the landlords did not properly disclose the lead based paint dangers in the lease. For that reason, I was able to immediately break the lease without penalty. It is really important to know your legal rights in this and use them when needed.




Resources from the EPA and HUD:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/fs-discl.pdf 
This link has a good summary handout of the legal requirements.
http://www.epa.gov/region1/enforcement/leadpaint/section1018.html
EPA New England summary of the legal requirements, including sample language for Lead based paints disclosure and numbers to report violations.

DIY Lead Paint Testing using lead swabs

 It can be really hard to find good resources on how to test for lead. Today, I want to share some pictures I took when I was testing the doors in our old rental house for lead. I used the lead swabs you can get at your local home improvement store. They are about $25 for a pack of 6 and my experience was that each pack has at least one dud that is totally dried out. There is another type of kit available that has containers of liquid you mix together and then add a bit of whatever you are testing. It is a bit like testing the water in a pool. You wait for a bit and then compare the color of the liquid to a card they give you. This kit is harder and more time consuming, but I found it useful to test the enamel that was flaking off an old porcelain wall heater. Unfortunately, I don't have pics of that, so these pictures are all of using lead swabs to test a couple of old doors.

 To use the swabs, you need to burst the little glass bubble of liquid inside it by squeezing it and then you shake it up. You test by rubbing in a circular motion on the area you want to test. If it turns bright pink, you found lead.

 These two pictures are of the same door. The minty green color paint does contain lead. The first picture is of actually testing the door one night and the second picture is the next morning. WARNING: this bright pink reaction that occurs between the swab and lead paint does not come off. It will stain the door. It actually gets brighter as it sits there.

This is a bad spot to have lead. In general, if lead paint is covered up and intact (not peeling), you are relatively safe, but on areas of friction like this door, it is a problem. Every time this door is opened and closed, the friction between the door and frame will cause lead dust to be released into the air and settle on your stuff where you can ingest it. 

 Using the lead swab on a different door. On this door, the old green paint was not visible like it was on the other door. The back and sides of the door had been painted a very dark brown and the inside was left white. I had suspicions about this door because it was the same age as the first door that tested positive. You can see that the reaction is not as quick or as bright because the white paint is over the green lead paint.

 This is the next day. As I said, this stains the paint on the door!

 This is testing a third door just so you can see more of what positive reactions look like. In all, there were 5 doors in this house that had lead paint on them. Only one had actual peeling paint and that was on the outside of the door.

Link between childhood lead exposure and Alzheimer's

A study published in 2008 found a link between early childhood lead exposure and Alzheimer's disease. The researchers studied the brains of 23 year old monkeys who had been exposed to lead resulting in blood lead levels between 19 and 26 µg/dL for the first 400 days of their lives. They found plaque build up associated with Alzheimer's. Several studies with rodents have had similar findings. The authors of the study stresses that lead exposure will not necessarily lead to Alzheimer's, but it does appear to be a risk factor as smoking is a risk factor for cancer. 


This study is pretty scary to me. It really shows the lifetime impact of lead. How many people are suffering from this and have no idea what caused it. 


Resources:
http://www.jneurosci.org/content/28/1/3.abstract

Thank You Dr. Needleman

I want to take a minute to thank a hero of mine, Dr. Herbert Needleman. He was the first to really bring awareness to the problems surrounding lead exposure in children. His landmark 1979 study showed the cognitive and behavioral effects of lead exposure. Previously, the focus was on environmental pollutants causing physical diseases like cancer, but his study emphasized what later became known as "behavioral toxicity." He has also fought tirelessly to raise awareness of the issues and was instrumental in getting the level of concern for Blood Lead Levels lowered to where they are today. He was forced to defend himself against attacks from the lead industry and in doing so also fought for scientists' right to defend themselves in open hearings when accused of scientific fraud. It was his study that first showed the significant impact of lead exposure on behavior, IQ, and attention. He inspired a body of research that has made the environment safer. We still have a long way to go, but today, I stop and say thank you for your hard work, Dr. Needleman. Thank you from my family and the countless others who have been effected by this.

Lead in tap water

In researching my previous post about ways we ingest lead every day, I was really surprised to learn that lead from the water in your home is a bigger source than I previously thought. I did not realize how much and how recently lead was used in plumbing applications. Admittedly, this is still a small source of contamination, but remember that the effects of lead are cumulative. It builds up in the body and is stored in your brain and bones and can be released into the bloodstream again as bones break down. My personal goal, especially concerning my little one who has multiple places of brain damage from lead, is to minimize further lead exposure in every way possible. 


If you live in a home with plumbing older than 1990, lead could be a concern. Lead solder was commonly used to join household plumbing pipes until the late 1980's. In the US, drinking water with less than 15 ppm of lead is considered safe and in Canada, the guideline is 10 ppm after the water has been allowed to run until it is cold. Corrosion can cause lead to leach from your plumbing into your water and exceed these levels. The recent switch from chlorine to chloramines to treat water may also cause more leaching because it increases corrosion in water supply systems. Older municipal systems may also still have the original lead pipes or connectors too. Studies have shown that a lot of lead is released in to the water supply system when these old pipes are removed as well so it is good to be aware of any work like that going on in your area. Brass faucets and fixtures also contained a significant amount of lead until around 1997 as well and can leach that right into the water you are using. 


If you are concerned about lead in the tap water in your home, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Young children drink bath water, it may be best to have them take showers
• Hot water causes more lead to leach. Use only water from the cold water faucet for drinking and cooking. 
• Water that has been sitting in the pipes will contain more lead. Run the faucet for 30 seconds or more before you use the water. 
• Do not use tap water to prepare infant formula. 

Lead, Lead everywhere

Today, I want to talk about other sources of lead. Lead was used in gasoline, paint, and pesticides for years and is everywhere in our environment. Different government agencies like the CDC, EPA, and FDA have set "acceptable" limits for the different things they oversee, but lead builds up in the body. While the lead in your lipstick or apple juice may be a small amount by itself, it all adds up and gets stored in your body. I try to minimize our exposure to known lead sources. It is impossible to avoid lead entirely. It just is, because it is in the soil and water and even an organic apple has trace amounts of lead. It is possible to educate yourself and greatly reduce your overall lead exposure.

Here are some every day items to watch our for:

Lipstick:
http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductandIngredientSafety/ProductInformation/ucm137224.htm#q3
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/400-lipstick-brands-contain-lead-fda-says/2012/02/14/gIQAhOyeDR_story.html
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3722013

Apple Juice (even some organic brands):
http://www.safbaby.com/lead-found-in-organic-and-non-organic-juices-and-baby-food
http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2011/11/consumer-reports-tests-juices-for-arsenic-and-lead.html

Toys:
http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/lead/recalls/
http://news.consumerreports.org/safety/2011/11/toy-recalls-and-lead-violations-are-down-but-180000-child-injuries-a-year-is-too-high-cpsc-says.html
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/toy.html (includes all toy recalls)

Other kids' drink and snacks
http://www.inhabitots.com/85-of-kids-drinks-snacks-could-contain-high-levels-of-lead/

Dishes, tableware:
*important note - heat increases the amount of lead that is leached into food.
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=12465018
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/CLPPB/Pages/TalkPts-ltw.aspx
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/Metals/Lead/ucm233281.htm
http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/tools/Finding%20Lead%20In%20Your%20Home_web.pdf

Older porcelain or enamel bath tubs and sinks:
*important note - hot water increases the amount of lead leached by these older tubs and sinks
http://aestheticsolutionsofidaho.com/lead.htm
http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/lead/doc/Porcelain%20and%20Ceramic2.pdf
http://healthvermont.gov/family/toolkit/tools/Finding%20Lead%20In%20Your%20Home_web.pdf

Plumbing pipes, faucets, and fixtures:
*Brass plumbing contains lead.
http://www.mwra.state.ma.us/04water/html/Lead_Faucets.htm
From the above link:
Most faucets purchased prior to 1997 were constructed of brass or chrome-plated brass, which contain up to 8 percent lead. *this is important because most people believe that if their house was built after the 1970's, lead is not a concern.
http://www.copper.org/applications/industrial/lowlead.html
http://scienceblog.com/40142/study-shows-brass-devices-in-plumbing-systems-can-create-serious-lead-in-water-problems/
http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/xp-29130

These are just some of the sources of lead that we can come in contact with every day. Please be aware and do what you can to minimize these especially for your children who are much more vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead.

Lead in breast milk and during pregnancy

This is a sensitive topic for me since we have been through this. It makes me so sad that such a precious part of life has been poisoned by environmental toxins. During pregnancy and lactation the mother's bones break down at a faster rate and can release lead stored in them so even if there is no current lead exposure, mom can still be passing lead to her baby. Lead can also cross the placenta during pregnancy and cause many issues including miscarriage, neurological impairments in the infant, and minor congenital malformations such as skin tags and undescended testicles in male babies. The time right after birth is a time of rapid development for the baby's  central nervous system and toxic substances like lead can have devastating impacts. The good news is that lead does not concentrate in breast milk because it does not attach to fat and the level of lead in breast milk is only about 1/4 to 1/3 the amount of lead in the mother's blood. If your blood level is less than 10 μg/dL, the amount of lead passed on to the baby is 2 to 3 μg/dL and the benefits of breastfeeding far outweigh that level of lead exposure. Additionally, the United States EPA has set an action level for lead in municipal water supplies at 15 parts per billion. A WHO study puts the median level of lead in breast milk worldwide at 5 parts per billion or 1/3 the amount that is allowable in municipal drinking water supplies in the US. Formula fed babies are at a greater risk of lead exposure than their breastfed peers if parents are using tap water to prepare their formula. The US Health Resources and Services Administration has recommended that mothers with blood levels over  40 μg/dL be encouraged not to breastfeed. This recommendation seems high given the overwhelming evidence that low levels of lead exposure cause significant damage to children's memory and neurological functions. 

I think, as parents, the best thing we can do is to educate ourselves and make the best decisions we can as we go. I would like to see routine testing for lead in all pregnant women as part of the prenatal testing that is already done.  This would help to identify potential issues and let the parents take action to reduce the mother's lead exposure. Calcium supplements slow the loss of bone and help prevent lead from leaking into the bloodstream as well. 

Resources:

http://www.fetal-exposure.org/resources/index.php/1995/03/02/lead-exposure-in-pregnancy/

http://www.nrdc.org/breastmilk/lead.asp

http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/sep/2004/milk/

http://www.lead.org.au/lanv6n2/update014.html

Good study on the impact of lead on academic performance

This is a really good study that gives some insight into the academic performance impacts of lead exposure even at low levels. They studied over 500 children from the urban area around Boston and a rural area in Maine and compared their results on several measures of IQ and academic performance. They found that even after adjusting for variables such as race, socioeconomic status, and caregiver IQ, children with Blood Lead Levels  of 5-10 μg/dL scored an average of 5 to 6 points lower on IQ tests. They showed specific impairments in the areas of working memory and spatial reasoning as well as math, basic reading and reading comprehension. 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2276844/

In one section of this study, they also note "that the impact of increased exposure at lower levels of lead might be greater than the proportional impact at higher levels." This goes against the current prevailing medical model of treating lead exposure. I have been told by numerous pediatricians in two different countries that low level lead exposure is not a problem. The research is showing that the opposite is true. The cumulative impact of long term low level lead exposure is more dangerous than a single high dose exposure to lead. It is commonly believed that kids need to eat or mouth lead paint to get enough lead to be dangerous and I was even told initially that lead could not be an issue for my child because there were no lead paint chips in his stomach on x ray. These false beliefs are governing our children's medical care and it is just not ok. Doctors, especially pediatricians, need to be trained in what the latest research from the last ten years really shows. We need building codes updated and contractors need to be taught to look for lead when they work in older homes. Most of all, we need to raise public awareness so that parents have the knowledge they need to keep their kids safe and to be good advocates for them if any issues arise. 

How much is too much?

Currently, the CDC lists a Blood Lead level of 10 µg/dL as "safe". This is down from 60 µg/dL considered safe in the 1960's. However, there is mounting evidence that not even this much lower recommendation is safe. Adverse health effects exist at much lower blood levels. Many groups have attempted to persuade the CDC to change their recommendation. There are several places on the CDC website and in their literature where they admit that there is evidence that lead causes negative impacts at levels well below 10 µg/dL. The CDC actually has a page dedicated to addressing those that want them to change the recommendations:
This quote is directly from that page:
"However, at this time the reasons not to lower the level of concern are as follows:

• No effective clinical interventions are known to lower the blood lead levels for children with levels less than 10 µg/dL or to reduce the risk for adverse developmental effects.
• Children cannot be accurately classified as having blood lead levels above or below a value less than 10 µg/dL because of the inaccuracy inherent in laboratory testing.
• Finally, there is no evidence of a threshold below which adverse effects are not experienced. Thus, any decision to establish a new level of concern would be arbitrary and provide uncertain benefits."

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/policy/changeBLL.htm#


That last point is the one that makes me the angriest. To me, they are saying, there is no safe level lead, so why change our level of concern? That is beyond reprehensible. They could use their resources to come out and directly say how dangerous lead is and lead a campaign to get lead out of our homes, toys, and cookware. They could use their influence to directly help millions of kids, but instead they bury this information on their website and make no effort to really confront the issue.


So, why is this important? Most doctors, other health officials, and local authorities use the CDC's level of concern as a "safe" lead level and do not realize that kids are getting sick and suffering permanent cognitive impairments every day at levels well below that seemingly magic number of 10 µg/dL. I think this is a terrible disservice to parents and kids everywhere. Study after study has shown that there is no safe level of lead especially where children are concerned. Children absorb a higher proportion of lead than adults and there is some evidence that autistic children may absorb lead even more easily than their peers.

Welcome

Welcome to Lead on the Brain. I started this blog to bring awareness to lead and other heavy metals in our environment and the effect on our health and our children. I am going to be adding a lot of resources and articles to help you on your journey and along the way I will share my own family's experiences with lead and mercury and their toxic health effects.