Lead and its Health Hazards
Keywords:
Heavy metals, Lead, Human exposure, Health hazards, Toxicity, PreventionAbstract
Metals are important source of pollutant toxicants which occur naturally in the environment. Now-a-days many metals have become
essential to various biological processes and some level of human exposure is therefore unavoidable. Lead has been used by humans
for at least 7000 years alone and in combination with other metals. It is highly toxic, ductile, malleable and easy to smelt. A wide
range of adverse effects could be induced in human beings depending upon the dose and time period of lead exposure. Central
nervous system of children is the most sensitive to lead effects while peripheral neuropathy, chronic nephropathy, and hypertension
are the main concerns in adults. Other target tissues include the gastrointestinal, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems. Effects
on the heme biosynthesis provide a sensitive biochemical indicator even in the absence of other detectable effects. Present review
is therefore written to provide comprehensive awareness regarding lead and its health hazards.
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Copyright (c) 2016 Syed Sanowar Ali, Nasim Karim
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