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self-raising flour, food colouring, tartaric and citric acids, and
fruits insufficiently cleaned of insecticide sprays, etc. Some cosmetics
have also been indicted.
With the closure in 1969 of an Avonmouth smelting works,
under pressure of the Factory Inspectorate for improvements,
interest has been stimulated in lead poisoning generally. Nearer
home, Southwark discovered that the lead content in dust samples
from an area bordering upon a lead factory was of sufficient
concentration to warrant further investigation and, locally, an
industrial concern has recently come under suspicion.
Lead poisoning is usually occupational in origin but one of
our leading researchers in this field has intimated that most
people living in urban areas are subject to some interference
with their metabolism through the absorption of lead which,
even in low concentrations in the blood (0.2-0.4 p.p.m.) can inhibit
enzymal activity. Recent experiments in Italy have shown that
lead may not only have definite effects on the human body but
that it could possibly influence heredity as well.
Fortunately, over the years, sufficient knowledge of lead and
its effects on the human body has been gathered that legal limits
imposed by the Factory Act, 1961, on the industrial environment
and control of foodstuffs by the Food and Drugs Regulations have
rendered dangers from these sources minimal.
Much of the lead which finds its way into the body via the
lungs, skin and alimentary tract is excreted but a little is stored
innocuously in the skeleton. Unfortunately, lead is a substance
with a cumulative toxic action in that, repeated doses, each too
small to produce any appreciable effect on health may, in course
of time, give rise to symptoms of poisoning and interfere with
brain function and the formation of blood cells. For most of us
the level of lead in the body is so low that none of these functions
are so impaired that we become ill and our preventive efforts are
usually directed to those who work within the lead industry
where regular medical examinations will ensure that the body
load of lead stays within reasonable limits. However, it is known
that the mature brain of an adult is unlikely to be affected by
even moderate levels of lead poisoning although functional disturbances
may be observed in the nerves to the arms and legs.
We are becoming increasingly aware that neurotoxic substances
such as lead can give rise to psychological disturbances at a
much earlier stage than the clinical presentation. It follows that
our main objective should be effective prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of lead poisoning in the young before irreversible
brain damage occurs. Children who are mentally handicapped or