Hey Umbra - do you have a line on any resources that describe the long term effects of lead poisoning?  That is to say - what happens to people who had lead poisoning as small children?  When they are "cured" - are there any long term effects as they become adults (ie, immune diseases, teeth issues, bone issues, etc)?

just to add to umbra's article: even if lead were 100 percent removed from all industrial processes, paint and pipes, soil on the ground would still be affected by decades-old deposits of lead. Container gardening avoids this but community gardens and other sites may still have that problem

to answerjenconsipiracy: lead never leaves the body or does so very slowly. to remove lead you have to have "chelation therapy" in which you ingest other metals that bind to the lead to remove it. Very icky and often dangerous to the patient.
brain damage from lead poisoning is permanent--there is no cure. High level ingestion causes clear immeidate damage but long-term low levels have been proven to lower the intelligence and functioning of children over years. Lead also binds into your bones, taking the place of other minerals.

It's nasty stuff.

While some older pipes are still made of lead, and older copper pipe still has lead solder, all new pipes are constructed using lead-free solder, unless a "do-it-yourselfer" has used old leaded solder on pipes.  Likewise, new fixtures are low lead (called lead free, but they still allow a little lead in brass), so very little lead is contributed from drinking water in most communities.

It is my understanding that there is still lead in wheel weights on trucks and other large vehicles and that lead dust from these contaminates the air and soil around roadways- any information on this?

...I am already familiar with the (potential) hazards of lead poisoning and sources of lead poisoning with children.

Apologies if I was not clear - what I interests me is any kind of study or survey that describes the health of people who had lead poisoning as children -- that is to say, longitudinal studies that follow them 10-20-30 years after their lead poisoning was cleared up.

The discussion about lead in garden soil, gasoline and lead pipes did not inform readers that the EPA and most states administer drinking water protection programs under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act that regulate levels of lead and copper in public water supplies.  In the absence of lead pipes, there is a concern about lead in soldered copper pipe connections that can leach into drinking water if the water is slightly corrosive.