Any living organisms can be adversely affected by toxins which it can pick from its environment. Toxins can only have effect once absorbed into an organism’s body. One such toxin is lead. According to the World Health Organization (2013), lead poisoning occurs through two major ways; through breathing lead vapor in the air, and the intake of food and water.

The lead poisoning among the employees of the plant could have occurred in through eating contaminated food prepared at company. Given the high concentration of lead around the factory, lead vapor could have landed on food and water sources over time. Eating and drinking of contaminated food and water could have gotten the lead into the workers’ gastrointestinal tract (Kacew & Lee, 2013). And as the food and water is absorbed into blood and distributed, the same is done to the lead particles

Kacew & Lee (2013) and World Health Organization (2013) observe that lead poisoning can also be caused by breathing lead which is present in the air. Given the high levels of lead around the firm, it is likely that lead concentration in the air around the plant was very high, hence could easily be breathed in. On the same note, Kacew & Lee (2013) points out that lead vapor is likely to be deposited on the alveoli in the lungs. The alveolar area has a large surface area due to many blood vessels that serve it. This makes absorption and further distribution of toxins into the body possible.

According to World Health Organization (2013), lead takes time to build up in body. It therefore means that the lead is less soluble, hence absorption and distribution in the body happens over time.

References

Kacew, S. & Lee, B. M. (6th ed.). (2013). Lu’s basic toxicology: Fundamentals, target organs,

and risk assessment. New York : Informa Healthcare.

World Health Organization. (2013).Water Sanitation Health. Retrieved October 22, 2013 from     http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/diseases/lead/en/

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