Lead
The adverse effects of lead were known to the ancients. In the 2nd century BC the Greek botanist Nicander described the colic and paralysis seen in lead-poisoned people.[39] Dioscorides, a Greek physician who is thought to have lived in the 1st century CE,[40] wrote that lead "makes the mind give way". Lead was used extensively in
Roman aqueducts from about 500 BC to 300 AD.
[41] Julius Caesar's engineer,
Vitruvius, reported, "water is much more wholesome from earthenware pipes than from lead pipes. For it seems to be made injurious by lead, because
white lead is produced by it, and this is said to be harmful to the human body."
[42] During the
Mongol period in China (1271−1368 AD), lead pollution due to silver smelting in the
Yunnan region exceeded contamination levels from modern mining activities by nearly four times.
[43][n 1] In the 17th and 18th centuries, people in
Devon were afflicted by a condition referred to as
Devon colic; this was discovered to be due to the imbibing of
lead-contaminated cider. In 2013, the
World Health Organization estimated that lead poisoning resulted in 143,000 deaths, and "contribute[d] to 600,000 new cases of children with intellectual disabilities", each year.
[45] In the U.S. city of
Flint, Michigan, lead contamination in drinking water has been
an issue since 2014. The source of the contamination has been attributed to "corrosion in the lead and iron pipes that distribute water to city residents".
[46] In 2015, drinking water lead levels in north-eastern
Tasmania, Australia, were reported to reach over 50 times national drinking water guidelines. The source of the contamination was attributed to "a combination of dilapidated drinking water infrastructure, including lead jointed pipelines, end-of-life polyvinyl chloride pipes and household plumbing".
[47]
Toxic heavy metal - Wikipedia
