I understand something like Carbon Monoxide which physically takes up space that should have oxygen there but what about lead in my blood kills me? Is it a chemical reaction that steals nutrients? Does it puncture blood cells?
In: Chemistry
The problem with heavy metals is that once they get into the body they don’t usually have a way to get out. So there is no amount of them that is ‘safe’ because it will always be with you. Lead from gasoline you were exposed to as a kid is still in your body today.
Lead and mercury damage the body in several ways but they tend to attack the mind first. You’ve heard the expression “mad as a hatter” and it comes from the fact that prior to the removal of mercury from many industries, hat makers were routinely exposed to mercury fumes from felting and hat making. These attacked the brain leading to erratic behavior and in some cases madness. Liquid mercury isn’t that bad and people used to drink it as a laxative. But the vapors that come off liquid mercury are really bad and because the vapor pressure of mercury makes it fume constantly, there isn’t a safe way to handle it outside of a fume hood.
If you look at violent crime in the united states decade by decade you will see that it was climbing in most places up to the 80’s, and then it began to drop and is still dropping year by year.
One of the explanations for this is lead exposure from leaded gasoline. It got everywhere, in the air we breathed, the surfaces we touched, in our food, in our water. Lead also attacks the brain and leads to problems like poor impulse control, dementia. It has been linked to the increase in violent crime in the 60’s and 70’s and poor impulse control in criminals.
There is also evidence that the use of lead in the Roman empire might have played a part in Rome’s decline and eventual downfall. They used to add lead oxide to wine to make it taste sweeter. Lead pitchers, lead plumbing, all contributed.
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