Lead Exposure, Lead Toxicity in children and its implications

*Kehinde Monica Akinseye 1Jesse Oluwatosin Arowolo1

1Department of Biology,  Adeyemi college of education Ondo, Ondo, Nigeria.


Lead is a poisonous, soft heavy grey metal that melt easily. Exposure to toxins by human in the environment could pose a great risk to their health, which could be immediate or after several years. Disease manifestation in adults could be traced to their childhood stage where there is likelihood of them to have been exposed to some harmful substances or toxins. This review was carried out to investigate the implications of Lead exposure and toxicity in children. Children have been found to be more susceptible to Lead due to their auto-oral-exploratory, curiosity andage appropriate hand-to-hand behavior which results in their mouthing and swallowing of Lead containing or coated object.

Child’s environment is full of Lead and they can be exposed to it through different sources such as paints, Gasoline, Solder, consumer product and through different pathways. Breastfeeding, Pre-natal, Inhalation, Ingestion of children’s product and toys are some of the sources by which children can get exposed to Lead. Lead can accumulate in the human body over a period of time which could lead to toxic effect in the DNA, Cell, Blood, sense organ, nervous system, reproductive system, digestive system, circulatory system, renal system and skeletal system.

Key words: Lead, Children, Toxicity, Exposure, Diseases