Health hazards, lead

Humans, and most vertebrate animals, may be seriously affected by exposure to certain chemicals under certain conditions, directly or indirectly these may constitute serious health hazards (leading to diseases), as well as physical hazards, including risk of death. 

Some asbestos fibres, when inhaled, can constitute a health hazard leading to lung cancer. The health risks are greatest during the production process, but may be... 

The metal is very effective as a sound absorber, is used as a radiation shield around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, and is used to absorb vibration. White lead, the basic carbonate, sublimed white lead, chrome yellow, and other lead compounds are used extensively in paints, although in recent years the use of lead in paints has been drastically curtailed to eliminate or reduce health hazards. 

D. Task-specific hazard analyses must lead to the development of written standard operating procedures (SOPs) that specify the controls necessary to safely perform each task. Detailed hazard analyses conducted for each site task and operation provide the basis for developing SOPs to protect employees from safety and health hazards. Written SOPs provide a mechanism for informing employees of procedures that ensure their safety and for enabling management to enforce hazard control procedures. 

Founded as the National Asbestos Council, EIA is a resource for professionals in the management and control of health hazards to occupants of buildings, facilities, and industrial sites. It de >elops and disseminates information about asbestos, lead based paint hazards, underground storage tanks (USTs), indoor air quality, solid and hazardous waste. 

In the process of identifying chemical health hazards, tlie near term and long tenn fate of tlie hazard should be incorporated into tlie analysis. Near-term concerns relate primarily to tlie release of the chemical into the enviromnent. This leads to the general subject area of e.xposure assessment, including routes of e.xposure - a topic that is treated in e.xtensive detail in Cliapter 12. However, tlie fate of the chemical (hazard) following tlie point of human entry is another consideration when attempting to identify health hazards. An overview of tliis topic is presented here... 

Lead is a heavy metal that remains in die bloodstream, causing mental retardation in children. It is believed that 3 X 10 7gofPbinl.00mL of blood is a health hazard. For this amount of lead... 

The main concern regarding tetraalkyl lead has been about human health hazards, a concern that has resulted in the progressive replacement of leaded petrol by unleaded petrol in most countries (Environmental Health Criteria 85). There has been particular concern about possible brain damage to children in polluted urban areas. Little work has been done on the effects of organolead compounds on wildlife or ecosystems, so the following account will be brief. 

In Great Britain the COSHH Regulations cover virtually all substances hazardous to health. (Asbestos, lead, materials producing ionizing radiations and substances below ground in mines, which have their own legislation, are excluded.)... 

When asbestos is handled, microscopic fibers become suspended in the atmosphere and are breathed into the lungs. There, they lodge in lung tissue, where they remain for many years, causing irritation that eventually leads to loss of lung function. Asbestos, which was once used extensively as insulation, is now recognized as a significant health hazard. 

More generally, the loss function need not be symmetric L(e) L(-e). Indeed, underestimation of a pollutant concentration may lead to not cleaning a hazardous area with the resulting health hazards. These health hazards may be weighted more than the costs of cleaning unduly due to an overestlmatlon of the pollutant concentration. The optimal estimators linked to asymmetric linear loss functions are given In Journel (3 ). 

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