Lead is Everywhere: The Ubiquity of Lead in Everyday Items
Lead is everywhere, I know this sounds alarmist but hear me out.
Lead in Metallic Form: Batteries, Bullets, and Household Items
Lead in its metallic form is more or less used in batteries, bullets, and plenty of metal objects like this chain I found at a thrift store the other day that contain dangerous amounts of lead.
Organic Compounds and Lead: The Real Danger in Paint and Gasoline
Where lead really gets tricky is when it's bound to organic compounds, like in Paint or Gasoline.
Understanding Organic Lead Compounds in Paint
Organic here doesn't have anything to do with the supermarket, it just means that the lead atom has bound itself to something containing carbon. In the case of paint, the formula is 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2, which can be visualized like this.
The Impact of Lead Paint in Homes Built Before 1950
The important takeaway is that by fixing lead with carbon, oxygen, and a little hydrogen, lead paint manufacturers were able to take metallic lead and turn it into a consumer product with extensive reach. It was pretty much the only paint used up until 1950, so if your home was built before then, there is certainly some lead-based paint within. The EPA estimated in 2001 that there are 64 million homes with lead in them. While some of those homes have been abated or demolished, that number still stands in the tens of millions today.
The Chemical Reaction: Neutralizing Basic Lead Carbonate with Acid
But let's get back to that Basic Lead Carbonate. Why this is important is that it's incredibly easy to neutralize it with an acid. Hydrochloric acid, aka stomach acid, is a strong acid that will easily liberate the lead.
Acid-Base Interaction: How Hydrochloric Acid Reacts with Basic Lead Carbonate
Acid-Base Interaction: When hydrochloric acid comes into contact with basic lead carbonate, an acid-base reaction occurs. HCl, being a strong acid, donates hydrogen ions (H⁺).
Formation of Water and Carbon Dioxide in the Reaction
Formation of Water and Carbon Dioxide: The carbonate part of basic lead carbonate reacts with the hydrogen ions from the HCl. This leads to the formation of water (H₂O) and carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas. The reaction of carbonate with acid releasing CO₂ is a common characteristic of carbonate compounds.
Formation of Lead(II) Chloride and Its Implications
Formation of Lead(II) Chloride: Simultaneously, lead ions (Pb²⁺) from the basic lead carbonate react with the chloride ions (Cl⁻) from the hydrochloric acid, resulting in the formation of lead(II) chloride (PbCl₂).
The Products of the Reaction: Lead(II) Chloride, Water, and Carbon Dioxide
The Products:
Lead(II) Chloride (PbCl₂): A salt that is typically a white or colorless solid.
Water (H₂O): Produced from the reaction between the carbonate component and H⁺ ions.
Carbon Dioxide (CO₂): Released as a gas during the reaction.
Nature of the Acid-Base Neutralization Reaction
This reaction is a typical example of an acid reacting with a carbonate to produce a salt, water, and carbon dioxide. It falls under the category of acid-base neutralization reactions, where the acid and the base react to neutralize each other’s effects, forming a salt and water in the process. The release of carbon dioxide is characteristic of reactions involving carbonates and acids.
Health Risks of Lead Poisoning: Ingestion and Absorption Rates
In terms of what this means for human health, ingestion of lead paint particles or chips will lead to a rise in blood lead levels. Unfortunately, approximately 30–50% of lead ingested by children is absorbed, compared with approximately 10% of that ingested by adults.
Chronic and Acute Lead Poisoning from Paint
When lead poisoning happens from paint it happens in two basic ways:
Adults getting poisoned chronically because of low-level hazards like dust coming from the doors or window friction surfaces.
Children getting more severe poisoning from the same hazards.
Catastrophic Lead Poisoning During Home Renovations
Adults and children getting catastrophically poisoned from ingesting massive amounts of lead dust from a construction project that was done in their home without proper lead safety or awareness.
A Case Study: The Consequences of Lead Poisoning During Renovations
Check out this photo below. This is what happens when a home is mid-renovation and the family gets poisoned. They had to stop work and were forced to block off the area that was being renovated. As a result, there is a large portion of the house that is inaccessible and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
The Ongoing Challenge: Lack of Certified Contractors for Lead Abatement
I took this photo a couple of months ago; the area is still in the same state because there is a dearth of certified contractors in the area.
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