Lead Poisoning

Lead is a metal that occurs naturally in the earth's crust, but human activity, such as mining, burning fossil fuels and manufacturing, has caused it to become more widespread. This element, however, has no known purpose that can be beneficial for humanity. Rather, it is an extremely harmful chemical that can cause serious damage and even potentially death when at high concentrations. Events, like the one in Flint, Michigan, where shortcuts by the government caused serious lead poisoning in the town via tap water, should be avoided at all costs when the shortcomings of lead toxicity are understood.

The cause of lead poisoning, or its etiology, is quite simply the build up of lead in the body. Sometimes, even small amounts of lead can be toxic
After doing so, the procedure to removing the lead is called “chelation therapy”. Chelation therapy is when a doctor prescribes a medicine to the patient to bind with heavy metals, like lead, in the body and neutralize their reactive potential, so they can be excreted through the urine. A common chelating agent is dimercaprol, which is effective because of its sulfhydryl group. Lead tends to react with enzymes that have sulfhydryl groups, so the dimercaprol binds with the lead rather than the lead binding to important receptors in the body. Unfortunately, dimercaprol is toxic and can cause kidney damage, so it must be prescribed at very small doses. Another type of chelation therapy, called EDTA therapy, treats adults with lead levels greater than 45 mcg/dL of blood with a chemical called ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). In severe cases, however, lead can enter the bones of the inflicted person at a rapid rate, since lead is so similar to calcium yet stronger. Once lead is in the bones, the chelating agents cannot neutralize it, and there is a potential danger of it being re-released later on, causing long term