I heard that touching lead can poison you. I know lead is poisonous, but is it true?
2006-08-09 15:39:12 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Other - Health
You can ingest lead many ways. Not washing your hands after touching it is one way. You can also inhale lead dust. One of the worst ways is if you are smoking while around lead dust. The lead is pulled into the cigarette and then deeply into your lungs. There is no lead in a lead pencil. It is graphite. If your plumbing is 35 years old or so you could be getting lead in your drinking water. Back then they used 50-50 solder on copper pipes. As the name implies the solder was fifty percent lead. Part of the reason for the fall of the Roman empire was lead poisoning past down from generations. Re Nero. The Romans had running water, there pipes were made of lead.
2006-08-09 16:00:46 · answer #1 · answered by c321arty 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You won't get poisoned just by touching lead. Most of lead poisoning is through consumption, so unless you've touched a lot of lead and for some reason decided to lick it off your hands, I doubt you'd have a problem.
2006-08-09 15:46:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Merely touching lead cannot hurt you unless you have an open wound or sore on the skin where the lead is touched. Ingesting lead, such as lead-based paint is deadly.
2006-08-09 15:45:29 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, but typically the reason for that is you don't wash your hands and then touch your mouth or face. Best answer is don't touch it. If you do, wash your hands very thoroughly with soap. And if you did touch it and did these steps and still aren't feeling well, call 911 immediately.
2006-08-09 15:43:42 · answer #4 · answered by a41xblj 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to be in contact with it, for a longer period, than just touching it. Just wash your hands, and you'll be right. And the lead in pencils, is really graphite.
2006-08-09 16:02:52 · answer #5 · answered by flaming_dog_racing 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It will get into you through the pores of your skin.
FIY the black thing in the pencil is not lead, but is graphite, a kind of carbon.
2006-08-09 15:44:46 · answer #6 · answered by Kanda 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I doubt it is true seeing as when I was in 5th grade I slammed my hand down on a pencil by mistake and the lead is still in my hand and I am 23.
2006-08-09 15:44:29 · answer #7 · answered by cuteswim_gurl 2 · 0⤊ 7⤋
Not unless you immediately lick your fingers. Wash your hands well, and you should have no problem.
2015-01-05 18:48:25 · answer #8 · answered by Timothy Perseus Wordsworthe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lots of good opinions already for this
2016-09-21 00:39:08 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
HEY IT IS BUT YOU NEED A LOT OF IT IN YOUR BLOOD STREAM.NOT TOUCHING ONLY IN YOUR BLOOD SO DON'T STAB ANYONE TO OFTEN WITH A PENCIL.
2006-08-09 15:54:03 · answer #10 · answered by lexi 3 · 0⤊ 5⤋