Pencil "plumbago" (Latin for "lead ore"). Because the pencil core is still referred to as "lead", or a "lead", many people have the misconception that the graphite in the pencil is lead, and the black core of pencils is still referred to as "lead", even though it never contained the element lead. The words for pencil in German ("bleistift"), Irish ("peann luaidhe"), Arabic (قلم رصاص "qalam raṣāṣ"), and some other languages literally mean "lead pen". The value of graphite would soon be realised to be enormous, mainly because it could be used to line the moulds for cannonballs; the mines were
Lead poisoning lead levels in study is difficult. Bismuth is an element used as a lead-replacement for shotgun pellets used in waterfowl hunting although shotshells made from bismuth are nearly ten times the cost of lead. Exposure occurs through inhalation, ingestion or occasionally skin contact. Lead may be taken in through direct contact with mouth, nose, and eyes (mucous membranes), and through breaks in the skin. Tetraethyllead, which was a gasoline additive and is still used in fuels such as aviation fuel, passes through the skin; however inorganic lead found in paint, food, and most lead-containing consumer products is only minimally absorbed