Health Effects of Long-term Lead Poisoning

The most severe effect of long-term lead poisoning is damage to the central nervous system, including the brain. Like short-term lead poisoning, chronic lead poisoning can also cause encephalopathy. The symptoms of encephalopathy include vomiting, a feeling of dullness followed by drowsiness or stupor, poor memory, restlessness, irritability, muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis, tremors, convulsion and seizures, and coma. Encephalopathy can ultimately result in death.

Chronic overexposure to lead can also result in kidney disease. Usually, this disease exhibits no symptoms until the kidneys have lost about two thirds of their functionality. The first symptom to arise is urine dysfunction, but by the time this is noticeable, it is often too late to reverse the damage to the kidneys or prevent more. This can result in death if not treated by kidney dialysis, which is a process that uses a machine in place of the kidneys to remove waste and excess water from the blood.

Chronic overexposure to lead can affect the reproductive systems of both men and women, decreasing their sex drive. In men, lead poisoning can result in impotence and sterility, as well as deformed sperm cells, which can increase the possibility of birth defects. In women, lead poisoning can result in reduced fertility and abnormal menstrual cycles.

To learn more about Construction Lead Exposure visit our Cal/OSHA Construction Lead Exposure Online Training web page.