Question

8. If someone has severe liver damage, how would you expect this to change lead poisoning? 9. Tetraethyllead used to added to gasoline in order in improve octane and engine performance. However, it was banned due to aerosolized lead in the ultrafine category (<0.1um). Where do you think absorption would happen from this type of exposure? Do you think the toxicokinetic chart above is still relevant for this exposure? Why or why not? 10. Environmental lead contamination is a major issues in many locations around the country. Oftentimes near manufacturing or smelter facilities, the concentrations in the soil are so high that the site is unsafe for any human presence. To clean these sites with traditional chemistry is grossly expensive (where the name Superfund comes from) because it involves digging up, treating some soil, and removing some soil to a landfill. Instead bioremediation is often called upon. There are two major routes of bioremediation: bacterial and plant. Bacterial changes the contaminant to a less toxic form or to a form that's not bioavailable. While some plants hyper- accumulate toxicants where they can be harvested and disposed of safely. Which route will work best with lead at an abandoned urban site? What is your reasoning?

Answer 1

Q8: Lead is a chemical poison which causes enhanced levels of oxidative stress related damage by producing free radicals aganist lipids, proteins, or DNA. When a patient with already damaged liver is exposed to lead then more and more oxidative stress is imparted on the liver, resulting in further deterioration.