- Type
- Contaminant (heavy metal)
- How serious
- High severity
- Evidence
- Strong evidence
Why it is flagged
No exposure is known to be safe: Health Canada reports effects at blood levels as low as 1–2 µg/dL, with the developing brain, pregnancy and fertility the most sensitive. Prohibited in cosmetics in Canada. For PCOS the evidence is emerging: women with PCOS had higher blood lead in a 2026 meta-analysis of seven Asian studies.
Health topics it bears on
Sources
- Lead Health Canada, 2025
- Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist: Prohibited and restricted ingredients Health Canada, 2025
- Final Human Health State of the Science Report on Lead Health Canada, 2013
- Elevated Exposure to Lead, Mercury, or Chromium in Relation to Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Meta Analysis Gynecologic and Obstetric Investigation (Zhu et al.), 2026
- Heavy Metals and Essential Elements in Association with Oxidative Stress in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome—A Systematic Review Antioxidants (Srnovršnik et al.), 2023
- Scientific Opinion on Lead in Food European Food Safety Authority, 2010
- IARC Monographs Volume 87: Inorganic and Organic Lead Compounds International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2006
Also listed as
lead compounds, plomb, plomo, piombo, blei