READING AND DISCUSSING

I. Read the passage and concentrate on the following:

1. Sources of lead poisoning;

2. Consequences of lead pollution;

3. Prevention and treatment of lead poisoning.

II. Discuss the text with your group mates using the italicized word combinations and the following speech patterns:

To begin with ….

The problem of … is rather complicated/ urgent/controversial.

It’s a well-known fact that ….

Some more facts about … are ….

I can give some more details about….

I was surprised by learning that (about) ….

My point of view is that ….

To sum up I can go over some points raised. First, …. Second, …. On the whole, ….

In conclusion let me say ….

Get the lead out!

Most heavy metals are poisonous to humans and animals. Lead, one of these heavy metals, interferes (препятствовать) with hemoglobin production in the blood and produces anemia. Lead contamination can also cause mental retardation (задержка умственного развития ), learning disabilities, and damage to the nervous system.

The symbol for lead, Pb, comes from the Latin word plumbum (lead), which also gives us the words plumbing (водопровод) and plumber. In the Roman Empire, lead pipes carried water in the cities and lead cooking utensils (кухонная посуда) were used by wealthy Romans. (The poorer peasants did not have running water, and they mainly used clay (глиняный) cooking vessels.) As a result, upper-class Romans may well have suffered* lead poisoning that possibly caused brain or central nervous system damage. In fact, 1994 studies of ice cores (внутренность) in Greenland revealed extreme lead pollution caused by smelting (плавление) during the period from 500 B.C. to 300 A.D. Lead poisoning may have contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire.

However, the Romans aren’t the only ones who have been exposed (подвергаться воздействию) to toxic levels of lead. Lead pigments were once common in household and furniture paints (краска) – lead compounds produce so many different colours that an artist could compose an entire palette (палитра) using only lead compounds. Unfortunately, lead poisoning from paints in older houses causes problems because old paint peels (шелушиться, лупиться) so readily. Small children eat the paint chips; nearly 250,000 become ill every year. In some cases, permanent brain damage occurs. New paints make use of other types of pigments.

Another source of lead pollution in modern homes still involves the water supply. In many homes, copper water pipes are joined with lead solder (тех. припой). Small amounts of solder slowly dissolve each day. For this reason, if you have copper pipes, it is wise to run your tap water a few minutes before drinking it, especially if the tap has not being used for a day or more. If you wash your face or hands before drinking the tap water, you can avoid wasting the water as it runs. Newer homes often make use of plastic water pipes made from poly vinyl chloride or PVC. These pipes are joined with a small amount of volatile solvent (летучий растворитель).

Like the ancient Romans, we still sometimes use glasses and dishes that contain lead; lead improves the appearance and luster of crystal glass (глянец хрусталя). However, crystal glass is another potential source of lead poisoning, especially when used to serve acidic beverages (напитки) such as wine and soft drinks. Similarly, many ceramic dishes are coated with lead - containing glazes (глазурь) (especially those imported from foreign markets, where the health regulations are not as much as the forefront)*.

Physicians treat lead poisoning with EDTA or ethylene-diamine-tetra-acetic acid. EDTA forms soluble compounds called chelates with the lead, permitting the body to excrete it. But far preferable (намного предпочтительнее) to using EDTA as an antidote is avoiding lead exposure (продолжительное воздействие на организм) as much as possible. There is no doubt that it is wise to get the lead out of paints, drinking water, and other everyday solutions.

Notes: 1. where the health regulations are not as much as the forefront – где не такое строгое соблюдение правил охраны здоровья.

2. may well have suffered – возможно пострадали

Part vi.RENDERING

Render the following information into English.

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