Lead Information Package - Some Commonly Asked Questions About Lead and Human Health

Lead

• What is lead and where is it found?
• What are the beneficial uses of lead?
• How is the use of lead controlled in Canada?

What is lead and where is it found?

Lead is a heavy, soft bluish-grey metal that occurs naturally in the earth's crust in small amounts (average concentrations of 5-50 micrograms per kilogram). Much higher concentrations are found in lead ores. Lead tastes sweet but does not have a special smell. It can be found everywhere in our environment, not only because it occurs naturally, but also because it's used extensively in modern industry (mining, manufacturing and burning of fossil fuels).

What are the beneficial uses of lead?

Lead is a soft, heavy, inexpensive metal, which makes it useful in the manufacture of many consumer products such as pipes, sheeting, and as filler in the automobile body industry. In Canada, the major use of lead is in the manufacture of (lead-acid) batteries used in automobiles. It is also used in ammunition, fishing weights, and solder. Lead pigments are added to glass to prevent radiation exposure from television and computer screens, to storage containers for nuclear waste and to x-ray shielding aprons. Lead-acid batteries account for the most significant proportion of global lead consumption.

How is the use of lead controlled in Canada?

There are many regulatory and non-regulatory initiatives to reduce or regulate Canadians' exposure to lead.

Regulatory action

Health Canada is mandated, under the Government of Canada's Hazardous Products Act and Regulations, to protect Canadians from potential health hazards in consumer products Currently, the following consumer products are specifically regulated for lead content under the Hazardous Products Act: paints, enamels and other liquid coating materials, decorative coatings on pencils and artists' brushes, liquid coatings on children's furniture and other articles intended for children, toys, equipment and other products for use by a child in learning or play, glazed ceramics and glassware, and kettles.

Health Canada has also developed a Lead Risk Reduction Strategy for Consumer Products to protect children from exposure to lead through consumer products. It proposes to regulate, under the Hazardous Products Act, the lead content of five categories of consumer products that children are likely to come into contact with:

• products likely to be ingested in significant quantities (e.g., children's crayons, chalk)
• products intended to be or likely to be placed in or near the mouth (e.g., pacifiers, baby bottle nipples, crib toys, mouthpieces for musical instruments)
• children's equipment, furniture, toys and other items intended for use by a child in learning or play (e.g., strollers, high chairs)
• products intended for use in preparing, serving, or storing food or beverages (e.g., cutlery, tableware, cooking utensils)
• consumer products intended to be or likely to be melted or burned in enclosed spaces (e.g., candles, incense, fuel for indoor lanterns)

The strategy will serve as the foundation for new lead content regulations under the Hazardous Products Act.

The Food and Drugs Act controls the lead content in food and food packaging materials such as tin cans.

The 1990 Gasoline Regulation under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act has resulted in the phasing-out of leaded gasoline in Canada. Other provisions under this Act have reduced air emissions of lead from major industrial sources.

Non-regulatory action

Health Canada has promoted awareness of issues concerning lead and health by educating the public, health professionals, and industry. Health Canada, in partnership with various groups, has released many publications on topics such as lead and home renovations and lead risks associated with arts and crafts.

Other non-regulatory initiatives include the "Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality" and standards under the National Plumbing Code for plumbing fixtures that come into contact with potable water.

In Canada, drinking water quality is a responsibility shared between various levels of governments. Health Canada works closely with the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water to establish the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. Each jurisdiction is then responsible for setting their own guidelines, objectives or enforceable regulations, usually based on the "Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. The Canadian guideline for lead in drinking water is 0.010 mg/L.

There is also the Canadian National Plumbing Code which restricts lead solder from being used in new plumbing or in repairs to plumbing for drinking water supplies. Several provinces have also passed legislation limiting the amount of lead in solder used for drinking water supply lines.

To protect the safety and well-being of all Canadians, Health Canada investigates all products that are brought to the attention of the Department as being potential sources of lead exposure. In addition, Health Canada is monitoring the results of several large lead exposure studies in the United States and Europe, and continues to contribute to the body of knowledge on lead and health through studies on the effects of low-level lead exposure in primates.