At the time of writing, the topic of lead pollution is the subject of an
intense and sometimes heated debate. The argument centres upon possible
adverse health effects arising from exposure of children to current
environmental levels of lead. Such arguments now appear little closer to
resolution than they did five years ago, although the development of
ever more sophisticated biochemical and epidemiological techniques may
eventually provide an answer. Over the past five to ten years, as the
general public has become aware of the lead issue, pressure has been put
upon governments to limit emissions of lead, and hence limit or reduce
the exposure of the population to the metal. Govern- ments and
governmental agencies have responded in several ways, varying between
those who prefer to take little or no action on the basis that they see
no cause for concern, and those who have taken firm action after
concluding that the scientific and medical evidence warrants this
approach. Any effective control strategy for lead requires knowledge of
the sources of environmental exposure and an understanding of the
pathways of this metal in the environment. This book aims to provide
such information and to explain the methods available for limiting
emissions of lead from the most important sources. To put this
information in context a chapter on the routes of human exposure to lead
and the health effects is included.