Roman silver/lead mining made everyone thick...

[DBS]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/06/roman-empires-use-of-lead-lowered-iq-levels-across-europe-study-finds

Hmmmm. I do not have enough of a grip on the science of long range particle pollution/transmission (notwithstanding the use of ice cores for this study) to have a firm view on this theory.  Absolutely no doubt that those in immediate contact with the mining and smelting will have suffered - sending prisoners to the mines were regarded at the time as a death sentence - and the possible effects of lead pipes and cooking pots on all, and the sanity of Caligula and others in particular, have long been debated.

[Ian61]

As with other heavy metal poisoning it is the solubility of the compounds that is significant. There are not a lot of skeletons as Romans tended to create but Pompeii does provide a few. Interestingly the slaves (chained up near docks) had very low levels of lead.
Oddly the higher the class the worse lead poisoning was likely to be. Romans actually cooked some on lead and wine in contact tended to become sweeter - the old name for lead II acetate or more correctly lead II ethanoate was 'sugar of wine'! This soluble form of lead is more easily absorbed into the body.with no way to test for lead it would not be obvious that some food and drink bought was highly contaminated.
Eating and drinking contaminated food and drink can't have helped and likely much more significant than the lead piping that was not universal - the Romans (and Greeks) knew lead was poisonous and Vitruvius was against using lead pipes for this very reason.
 

[Andreas Johansson]

If the blood lead levels of the children during the early Empire were about a quarter those during the 1970s, one is inclined to doubt that the consequences were much worse than disco.

[Jim Webster]

If the blood lead levels of the children during the early Empire were about a quarter those during the 1970s, one is inclined to doubt that the consequences were much worse than disco.

yes I've seen other people quote these figures as well. It strikes me the lead argument is probably over exaggerated
It may sit better with modern environmental concerns that with history

[Erpingham]

Given the nature of IQ tests, which no Roman ever took, estimating the effect is presumably a guess based on modern populations.  What it actually implies in the historical setting isn't, at least to me, clear.

Also, given all the other health challenges the Romans faced, they might not have accorded this one as much attention as we do. Perhaps having a good fresh water supply outweighed the use of lead pipes?

[nikgaukroger]

I think the article is a greater threat to your IQ than lead was to the Romans ... 

[stevenneate]

I've done enough studies into lead toxicity to know the Roman angle is sensationalist cobblers.

[Nick Harbud]

The citizens of Flint, Michigan might disagree with the last couple of posts.

Notwithstanding, one should note that lead piping was widely used in domestic water distribution until relatively recently.  During this period, it was common practice amongst consumers to run the tap for several minutes before filling one's glass, kettle, etc, and pouring the contents down one's throat.  You could observe that this had obvious, bad effects upon Victorian Britons, but bear in mind that it could often be better than taking water from a well contaminated with cholera.

[Ian61]

I've done enough studies into lead toxicity to know it's sensationalist bollocks. Or generalised claptrap, take your pick.

Living as we do in the rather cosseted developed world I might agree. Lead is one of those old bogeymen poisons. The problem we have is that folks don't understand the actual quantitative risks so panic at mere mention (think Radiation! Its all around us but...). The odd lick of old lead paint is not going to actually do any damage it is the drip drip of constant exposure that matters because lead is a cumulative poison*. Many in the developing world really do suffer from lead poisoning. I might agree that the IQ points are tenuous at best but it is likely that some adult Romans who drank a lot of wine could have been exposed to serious amounts that would have caused severe medical problems.

*Microgram for microgram cyanide is far more toxic but our bodies can metabolise the tiny amounts, in say apple seeds, away so it does not accumulate. – just don't eat too many apple seeds at once!

[Imperial Dave]

I've done enough studies into lead toxicity to know it's sensationalist bollocks. Or generalised claptrap, take your pick.

Living as we do in the rather cosseted developed world I might agree. Lead is one of those old bogeymen poisons. The problem we have is that folks don't understand the actual quantitative risks so panic at mere mention (think Radiation! Its all around us but...). The odd lick of old lead paint is not going to actually do any damage it is the drip drip of constant exposure that matters because lead is a cumulative poison*. Many in the developing world really do suffer from lead poisoning. I might agree that the IQ points are tenuous at best but it is likely that some adult Romans who drank a lot of wine could have been exposed to serious amounts that would have caused severe medical problems.

*Microgram for microgram cyanide is far more toxic but our bodies can metabolise the tiny amounts, in say apple seeds, away so it does not accumulate. – just don't eat too many apple seeds at once!

Ermmm....well that's my goose cooked then

Wibble

[Cantabrigian]

The odd lick of old lead paint is not going to actually do any damage it is the drip drip of constant exposure that matters because lead is a cumulative poison.

Actually, there was a recent study into this very thing, and they found that people who had licked old lead paint had a higher incidence of mental impairment than the population in general...

[stevenneate]

Usually you just die from lead toxicity if you lick an old door which has red-lead undercoat. It is highly digestible and heads straight for the the body's natural filters, the liver and kidneys. Believe it or it, but cows seem to enjoy the taste. Farmers often used old doors to fill in holes in their barn walls. As the outer paint cracked, the cows would start to lick it and the next thing I'm getting a phone call that dozens of cows are dead in a field could I investigate. Lead poisoning was easily identified.

Cows, sheep, ducks and humans don't take a lot of digested lead to kill. Chickens on the other hand are pretty tough as they can release the lead into a continuous egg laying cycle (it is about 50:50 in the yolk and the shell, causing brittle shells and no surviving chick's). Ducks don't lay as often, so they digest lead shot when bottom feeding and you end up with a heavy metal duck liver pate!

Lead piping is a long term outcome. Lead-based paint licking is a pretty quick outcome. I've seen a single licked old door take out herds of 60-100 cows within a few days.

[Keraunos]

Is licking old doors a thing - among humans that is?  It would make for an interesting plot for a detective story. "Why was this man licking this door and did he know it would not be good for him, or did someone substitute an adulterated door for the one he normally licked?".

[Imperial Dave]

The Postman always Licks Twice?

[Jim Webster]

Lead piping is a long term outcome. Lead-based paint licking is a pretty quick outcome. I've seen a single licked old door take out herds of 60-100 cows within a few days.

It used to be a bigger problem (more lead paint about, even on farms the amount of scrap doors with lead paint is diminishing as they rot, get sawn up and burned for fire wood).
James Herriot mentions a case of a calf with issues and looked round the pen and spotted the door used to fix a gap.
Apparently he could treat (possibly early symptoms) with Epsom salts which may bind to lead in the guts etc

But yes lead paint is an issue, I can remember at junior school being warned against it. Apparently it tastes sweet and children would flake it off and eat it