by Answerbag Staff on November 7th, 2003

Answerbag Staff

Question

Help answer this question below.

Can you get lead poisoning from pencil lead?

Answers. 5 helpful answers below.

  • by Rook3300 on November 7th, 2003

    Rook3300

    Since pencil lead is actually graphite, it is not possible to get lead poisoning from it. Lead poisoning is when damaging and/or leathal amounts of lead (a very dense heavy metal) enter your bloodstream, causing brain damage and possibly cardiac failure.

    • Like
    • Report

    1 comment | Post one | Permalink

  • by nosh34 on May 6th, 2006

    nosh34

    Continous chewing at the pencil end over a prolonged period may lead to poisoning. This occurs in case of students who have habit of chewing pencil ends in class.

    The habit needs to be discouraged as it may lead to chronic low dose poisoning.

    • Like
    • Report

    1 comment | Post one | Permalink

  • by Dan Whitacre on January 4th, 2004

    Dan Whitacre

    With a modern pencil, no. But some pencils long ago were indeed lead crayons, and could present a poison hazard. I would guess, however, the practice of licking the point of the pencil before beginning to write (as seen in old movies and TV shows, usually done by police writing citations) would introduce more lead over time than having a chunk embedded in your body. (And just why would they lick the point?)

    • Like
    • Report

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by olan black on December 27th, 2009

    olan black

    No, pencils are not really made of lead, they are made of compressed graphite.

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

  • by flarn2006 on December 27th, 2009

    flarn2006

    No, because pencils actually use graphite, which is a form of carbon. It is not lead, and thus you can't get lead poisoning from it. Graphite is non-toxic.
    (A common misconception is that pencils used to use lead; this is not true. They always used graphite, but people used to think it was lead.)

    No comments. Post one | Permalink

Want to attach an image to your answer? Click here.

Did this answer your question? If not, then ask a new question or create a poll.

You're reading Can you get lead poisoning from pencil lead?

Follow us on Facebook!

Related Ads

ANSWERBAG BUZZ

Can you get lead poisoning from pencil lead
Lead poisoning from pencils
Pencil lead poisoning
Lead pencil poisoning
Lead poisoning pencil