Lead paint creates serious health risks, but this ad is from 1939, when lead in paint was normal. Many countries phased in bans starting in the 1970s or 80s, mandating lower and lower concentrations over time, or restricting permissible uses, or both. Some countries still allow unrestricted use of lead paint in 2026.

Lead exposure is very bad for anyone, especially children. Unlike certain other toxins, there’s no known safe level of exposure, and it bioaccumulates. There are many other routes into the body besides paint, and some are associated with increased crime rates and intellectual deficits in children.

  • cogitase@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    7·
    11 days ago

    Nanoplastics in particular can wind up in the bloodstream and throughout the body. At the nanoscale, the immune system will recognize plastic particles as pathogens and then macrophages will envelop and attempt to digest them. That causes all sorts of inflammatory signals to be put out. That then accelerates inflammaging and all of the associated diseases and conditions. There’s clear evidence for every step of this, the remaining hurdle is quantifying just how much damage it’s doing.