Lead in Europe — ending a toxic legacy

How does lead affect health?

The toxic nature of lead has been known for thousands of years (Lewis, 1985). It affects multiple organs and systems in the human body, and it is particularly harmful to foetuses, infants and young children. Once absorbed, lead is distributed via the bloodstream and accumulates in the bones, where it can remain for decades (EFSA, 2025).  

Even low levels of exposure have been associated with impaired neurodevelopment, reduced IQ, and behavioural and learning problems in children, while in adults lead exposure increases the risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney damage and adverse reproductive outcomes. During pregnancy, lead can cross the placenta, affecting foetal development. Health authorities emphasise that no safe level of lead exposure has been identified, meaning that any reduction in exposure can yield health benefits (WHO, 2023). 

Where does lead come from?

Although lead occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust and soil (typically at low concentrations) most lead pollution comes from human activities. In Europe today, lead exposure largely reflects the legacy of the metal’s past uses, with emissions from mining, smelting, metal processing and the use of leaded petrol having left persistent contamination in soils, sediments and urban environments (Komárek et al., 2008; Petit et al., 2015), but there are also a limited number of ongoing applications.  

Lead remains in use in some industrial processes and products, including battery manufacturing and recycling. EEA data, available through the European Industrial Emissions Portal, show that industrial releases of lead originate mostly from metal production and processing; from the burning of fossil fuels in power stations; and from the chemicals industry.

Lead is also present in certain metal alloys, ammunition and fishing tackle, creating occupational and environmental sources of lead release (EEA, 2025). It may also enter drinking water through old lead service lines, pipes, solder and plumbing fittings (ECHA, 2021). Residual contamination can also be found in some products and materials. 

How are people in Europe exposed to lead? 

For the general population in Europe, the predominant route of lead exposure is ingestion via food and drinking water (EFSA, 2025). Lead can enter food through environmental contamination from industrial emissions, legacy contamination in soils, uptake by crops, contaminated water, food processing and packaging materials. Additional dietary exposure may arise from lead migration from ceramic food-contact materials, as well as via contaminated foods, including certain spices (WHO, 2023; EFSA, 2025). 

Lead exposure can also occur through drinking water contaminated by legacy plumbing infrastructure. Tap water contamination is primarily associated with lead-bearing pipes, solder and fittings in household plumbing systems rather than natural sources. Assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the 2020 revised EU Drinking Water Directive (EU, 2020)(which strengthened limits on lead in drinking water and water-contact materials) identify tap water as a contributor to dietary lead exposure in Europe (EFSA, 2012).  

Lead may also be inhaled. Occupational exposure to lead fumes and particles tends to occur in primary lead production (mining, sintering and smelting), construction and demolition activities, the welding or cutting of lead-painted or contaminated materials, as well as battery recycling processes where manual intervention is required (ECHA, 2020). Tobacco smoking represents an additional source of exposure to both lead and other toxic metals (Lee et al., 2020). Tobacco plants absorb lead from environmental sources and their eventual combustion releases lead-containing particles that are inhaled by smokers and those exposed to second-hand smoke (RIVM, 2015; Dinh et al., 2021; Ćwieląg-Drabek et al., 2025).  

Additional sources of lead exposure include via deteriorating lead-based paints and paint dust in older buildings, as well as from certain consumer products, including toys, jewellery, ceramics and crystalware, particularly imports that may not fully comply with EU safety requirements. Lead can also be brought into the home from occupational or hobby-related activities, exposing family members through contaminated clothing, footwear and equipment (Li and Zhang, 2021; WHO, 2023, 2026) 

Children in particular can be exposed to lead through the inadvertent ingestion of contaminated soil and dust from legacy sources, because of their frequent hand-to-mouth behaviour (Haugland et al., 2008).  

In addition, lead accumulated into bone over the long term may be remobilised into the bloodstream during periods of increased bone turnover, such as can result during pregnancy or simply by aging. This mobilisation process is a key mode of internal lead exposure resulting from legacy lead pollution, posing additional threats to an ageing European population.

Europe’s declining lead levels 

The EU’s ban on leaded petrol — which followed similar measures in several member countries — has resulted in a progressive decline in the lead concentrations in the air and other environmental media. This, in turn, has significantly reduced lead exposure at the population level (Angrand et al., 2022; UPB, 2022). Such bans were complemented by controls on other sources of lead. This included the removal of the toxic metal from such consumer products as glass, jewellery, paint, solder, toys and wheel weights further reducing exposure. 

Several studies have confirmed subsequent reductions in the lead concentrations of environmental media (i.e. air, water and, to a lesser extent, soil) and mean blood lead levels (of around 60% in two decades, as explained below), supporting the correlation with policy action (Petit et al., 2015; Lacerda et al., 2023; Mielke et al., 2022; Strömberg et al., 2008). 

What the measured blood lead levels 

Human biomonitoring is a tool used to measure, among other things, how much of a chemical a person has, or has had, in their body. It enables an assessment of the person and population’s exposure to certain chemicals and the likelihood of resulting health impacts. 

Several countries in Europe have first-hand data on human blood lead concentrations, obtained either through governmental biomonitoring programmes or specific scientific studies.  

Figure 1 shows a decrease in average blood lead concentrations across European populations where human biomonitoring data are available. Population-weighted modelled concentrations across the full study area fell by about 60% between the first considered period (2000-2006) and the last (2012-2019); this change also reflects temporal changes in the model covariates (ETCHE, 2026). 

For the period from 2012 to 2019, the population-weighted geometric mean blood lead level across the study area was estimated at 1.05 micrograms per decilitre (µg/dL) among children and adolescents and 1.27 µg/dL among adults. National estimates ranged from 0.61 µg/dL in Portugal to 2.31 µg/dL in Serbia among children and adolescents, and from 0.74 to 2.79 µg/dL in the same countries among adults.  

The observed decline in blood levels was not uniform, however — regional differences persisted from 2000 to 2019 and some regions continued to have comparatively high concentrations in 2012-2019.  

An apparent increase in adult blood lead levels was observed in Germany towards the end of the study period. This should not necessarily be interpreted as a reversal of the broader declining trend, however, because the German observation for 2018-2019 was obtained from an older population (aged 54-73 years) and a regional study, which may not be representative for Germany as a whole (Rooney et al., 2022). Long-term biomonitoring data from younger German adults did not show a comparable increase over this period, but instead a steady decrease (Lermen et al., 2021).  

Additional biomonitoring evidence from Sweden after 2015 also supports the notion of a continuing overall declining trend in blood lead concentrations among adults in northern Sweden and children in southern Sweden (Wennberg et al., 2017; Stajnko et al., 2024; Lundh et al., 2026).

Figure 1. Average blood lead concentrations for all ages in selected member and collaborating countries of the European Environment Agency

The overall decline in blood lead levels is consistent with the combined effects of European and national policies and wider changes in industry, technology and behaviour. However, the available scientific studies also reveal that the concentrations of lead in blood have not decreased in relative terms as much as have the concentrations of lead as an environmental pollutant. This phenomenon, where lead in the environment keeps decreasing but the decrease in lead in blood is slowed down, remaining at low but still hazardous levels, has been observed in Europe and beyond (Petit et al., 2015; Lacerda et al., 2023; Mielke et al., 2022). 

This reinforces the importance of blood lead levels as the best-known indicator of exposure to inform on human health risks associated with lead, one far more accurate than measures of lead in the environment.

Countries without blood lead levels data  

Not all European countries carry out regular human biomonitoring, leaving important gaps in information on lead exposure. To address this, the European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment developed a model that combines blood lead measurements at subnational (i.e. NUTS 2) level with environmental, dietary and socioeconomic data — including air, soil and water pollution, land use, traffic and food contamination. After estimating the influence of other variables, estimates were modelled of blood lead levels. The details and datasets are available in the full report (ETCHE, 2026). The results, shown in Figure 2, predict the same trends for the entire EU and six additional EEA member and collaborating countries as seen in those countries with available measurements.

Figure 2. Estimated blood lead concentrations in the EU-27 and six additional countries over time

The maps show a clear overall decline in estimated blood lead concentrations across Europe for all age groups. The highest estimated concentrations are seen in the earliest period (2000-2006), with progressively lower concentrations in 2007-2011 and 2012-2019. This pattern is consistent with the continued reduction of lead exposure across Europe following regulatory measures and the phase-out of major historical sources of exposure. 

It is important to note that these maps are model-based estimates, so small differences in colour between adjacent areas should not be overinterpreted. However, the main conclusion is robust: blood lead concentration estimates have declined substantially throughout Europe across all age groups since 2000, although some regional variation persists and uncertainty remains greater in areas with limited underlying data. These patterns are fully consistent with the recent assessment of EFSA on lead in food and drinking water (see Box 2).

Lead still impacts health in Europe 

Despite the observed decline in blood lead levels, the toxic metal continues to affect health in Europe. Research has shown that some of the health impacts from lead still happen at levels previously considered safe. In fact, it is now believed that any detectable amount of lead in blood can potentially have adverse effects on brain development, IQ, attention span and academic achievement in children, and have cardiovascular, immunological, renal and endocrine effects in adults (WHO, 2023). 

This conclusion has prompted major revisions of attributable risk estimates in the Global Burden of Disease framework and increasing estimates of the overall health burden associated with lead exposure (Navas-Acien et al., 2007; Lamas et al., 2016; Lanphear et al., 2018; GBD 2021 Risk Factors Collaborators, 2024). 

Based on measured and modelled blood lead levels and taking as a threshold a level previously considered safe (specifically, 2 µg/dL), lead is estimated to be associated with over 62,000 attributable deaths and over 710,000 years of life lost annually in Europe. However, when considering the lower threshold of 1 µg/dL which better aligned with the existing epidemiological studies, lead exposure was estimated to be associated with over 310,000 attributable deaths and over 3.5 million years of life lost annually from all-cause mortality in adults aged 18 years and older across 34 member and collaborating countries of the EEA.  

Regardless of the threshold considered, the burden is unevenly distributed across Europe. Since comparing crude numbers of deaths and diseases across differently sized populations would be inaccurate, it is better to represent them as age-standardised rates. Figure 3 illustrates age-standardised mortality rates attributable to lead across European countries per 100,000 adults, alongside the uncertainty in the modelling.

Figure 3. Age standardised attributable mortality rate per 100,000 adults for selected causes and related uncertainty estimates

Estimates of age-standardised rates for lead-related mortality showed marked geographical variation across Europe, with the highest rates consistently observed in eastern and south-eastern European countries — particularly Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania, and parts of the Baltic region. The lowest rates were generally found in northern and western Europe, including the Nordic countries, France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The uncertainty calculations indicated that estimates were generally more precise in western and northern Europe, with wider uncertainty intervals for eastern and south-eastern Europe, suggesting greater variability or reduced precision in these estimates. Overall, the findings demonstrate a persistent east-west gradient in estimated lead-related age-standardised mortality, with higher rates and greater uncertainty concentrated in eastern Europe. 

In addition to premature mortality, exposure to lead can also lead to health impacts that affect quality of life. Similar spatial patterns were observed for the disability-adjusted life years rate due to intellectual disability in children and the years lost to disability due to ischaemic heart disease in adults, with eastern European countries experiencing the greatest burden (Figure 4). The uncertainty maps reflect a similar pattern as seen with mortality. Overall, the findings demonstrate a persistent east-west gradient in age-standardised mortality and disease burden, with higher rates and greater uncertainty concentrated in eastern Europe. 

Figure 4. Lead-attributable morbidity rates per 100,000 across 34 European countries for selected outcomes and related uncertainty estimates

Ending lead’s toxic legacy in Europe 

Lead exposure in Europe has been substantially reduced over the last few decades as a result of combined European and national actions. The phase-out of leaded petrol, restrictions on lead in consumer products and toys, controls on lead in electrical and electronic equipment, and tighter workplace standards have all contributed to major declines in environmental contamination and BLL across Europe. 

In recent years, new measures have increasingly focused on the remaining exposure pathways. The EU’s zero pollution action plan aims to reduce the environmental presence of all pollutants, including lead, to levels that present no significant risk to human health and the environment. 

A recent Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) restriction has banned PVC articles containing lead at concentrations of 0.1% by weight or higher, the Drinking Water Directive promotes the replacement of pipes and fittings containing lead and updated occupational health legislation has strengthened protection for workers exposed to lead in sectors such as battery recycling, metal production and waste management. In fact, lead is currently the only metal for which EU occupational health legislation establishes a binding biological limit value based on concentrations measured in workers' blood. 

In general, upstream measures targeting fuels, products and industrial processes can and have reduced lead exposure across the whole population — regardless of individual behaviours. However, lead’s past use continues to affect health today. Lead remains in buildings, dust, sediments, soil and water infrastructure. Lead stored in the skeleton can contribute to blood lead concentrations years after external exposure has declined. As a result, current exposure reflects both ongoing sources and the legacy of historical contamination. Further reductions therefore require not only preventing new releases of lead, but also remediation, infrastructure replacement and the continued monitoring and surveillance of population exposure.

Tackling diffuse lead sources

Implementing existing legislation and policy remains crucial to further reduce levels of lead pollution in the environment and in people — and, by extension, the associated health impacts. 

Attention is increasingly focused on diffuse and legacy sources of lead contamination. In 2021, for example, the EU adopted a REACH restriction on the use of lead gunshot in or around wetlands. In addition, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has proposed broader restrictions on the use of lead in fishing tackle and ammunition; these are expected to help reduce lead release into aquatic and terrestrial environments and decrease wildlife exposure.  

These measures will help reduce human lead exposure from certain foods. Game mammal meat is an important contributor to dietary lead intake, with high consumers at risk of several-fold higher exposures than the general population. Using lead ammunition for hunting represents a continuing source of human exposure because lead fragments can remain in edible tissues of wild game animals (Pain et al., 2026). 

The replacement of lead ammunition with non-toxic alternatives is increasingly regarded as an important measure to reduce lead exposure in both humans and wildlife. In addition, the use of lead in both ammunition and fishing tackle maintains an indirect human exposure pathway via the environment. It will be important to continue monitoring dietary lead exposure to understand the impact of the ECHA’s recently proposed restrictions. 

Addressing lead hotspots  

In addition to reducing lead emissions and exposure, efforts in Europe must increasingly focus on the legacy of historical contamination. This will require the systematic identification, monitoring and remediation of contaminated sites, particularly those used for mining, smelting, outdoor shooting, battery recycling and other industrial applications where lead can persist in dust, sediments and soils for decades (Paya Perez and Rodriguez Eugenio, 2018). Key actions include mapping and prioritising contaminated sites, remediating soils and sediments, restricting access to highly contaminated areas, controlling dust generation during redevelopment and demolition activities, replacing lead-containing drinking water infrastructure and strengthening environmental and human biomonitoring in affected communities (WHO, 2023). 

The EU Soil Monitoring Law (European Commission, 2026) strengthens the identification and management of contaminated land across Europe. It requires Member States to monitor soil contamination, identify potentially contaminated sites and address unacceptable risks to human health and the environment, supporting efforts to reduce exposure to legacy pollutants such as lead.  

New EU hygiene standards for materials in contact with drinking water will apply from 31 December 2026, helping to reduce the leaching of contaminants such as lead from fittings and pipes, and supporting the transition to the Drinking Water Directive's 5 microgram per litre lead limit. The implementation of these regulations will be key to addressing existing lead hotspots. 

Preventing exposure in children 

Children still need to be protected from lead exposure and its life-long health effects. It is important to remember that no safe level of lead exposure has been identified and therefore precautionary measures are warranted wherever exposures can reasonably be reduced. Targeted screening and early detection programmes for children — particularly those in high-risk communities, hunters’ families and older housing — are essential to achieving this goal. 

Lead-risk assessments and remediation should be prioritised for childcare settings, including day-care centres, schools and playgrounds (Ottesen et al., 2008). The replacement of lead-containing drinking water infrastructure should continue, with priority given to schools, childcare facilities, healthcare facilities and residential areas where children and pregnant women may be exposed.  

Alongside these measures, the strict controls on lead in jewellery, toys and other articles that can be mouthed by children should be complemented with increased market surveillance and enforcement to prevent exposure through consumer products. 

Human biomonitoring as a measure of policy effectiveness 

To fully understand current exposure to lead and its health risks, Europe needs regular population-based measurement of lead in blood, with sampling designed to provide information at both national and regional levels and with comparable methods used over time. At present, however, Europe lacks a regular and representative system for measuring blood lead levels. The dataset used for the estimations in this briefing included direct measurements from only 76 of the 257 NUTS 2 regions assessed. Estimates for most regions are therefore model-based and should be used to identify future measurement priorities, rather than as substitutes for local evidence.  

Both the EEA and the World Health Organization (WHO) have repeatedly emphasised the importance of environmental monitoring and human biomonitoring to verify that regulatory measures are delivering sustained reductions in exposure. Under the European Green Deal and the EU zero pollution action plan, progress depends not only on controlling current uses of lead but also on addressing the long-term environmental legacy created by decades of past emissions. 

To determine whether policy actions are delivering reductions in lead exposure and health benefits, an expansion of human biomonitoring of children, pregnant women and other vulnerable groups is needed to identify populations at risk and track long-term trends. The WHO specifically recommends increasing the biomonitoring of children and women of childbearing age. Children aged one to five years should be a particular priority because this is the age group most affected by lead’s effects on brain development and the group for which current data are weakest. 

Under the One Substance, One Assessment regulatory package ECHA, EFSA and the EEA are required to establish an EU-wide human biomonitoring study by 2030. By providing representative information on certain chemicals (the list of which is yet to be determined) present in the European population, this initiative is expected to strengthen the role of human biomonitoring as a tool for prioritising substances, evaluating regulatory action and identifying emerging risks.

Conclusions 

Europe's experience demonstrates that lead exposure can be reduced through sustained policy action. The marked decline in blood lead levels over the past two decades reflects the success of measures targeting lead in fuels, consumer products, industrial processes and workplaces. Future declines may be expected through upcoming restrictions on lead in fishing tackle and, if adopted, gunshot. 

Despite this progress, lead remains a public health concern. Harmful effects continue to occur at exposure levels commonly found within Europe today and no safe blood lead concentration has been identified. 

The challenge posed by lead in Europe has also changed. Current exposure increasingly reflects the legacy of past lead use, with contamination persisting in buildings, dust, soils and water infrastructure long after restrictions were introduced. Preventing new emissions remains essential, but further reductions in exposure will also require remediation, infrastructure replacement and targeted measures to address remaining sources. 

Human biomonitoring will be critical to these efforts. By directly measuring lead exposure in citizens, it is possible to identify populations at risk, track trends over time and evaluate whether policies are delivering their intended health benefits. Continued investment in human biomonitoring is therefore essential for guiding future actions to reduce the health burden of lead exposure in Europe.

1Identifiers2Acknowledgements3References4Footnotes5Press release

EEA Briefing 22/2025:

Title: Lead in Europe — ending a toxic legacy

HTML: TH-01-26-049-EN-Q - ISBN: 978-92-9480-801-1 - ISSN: 2467-3196 - doi: 10.2800/8909721

The European Environment Agency (EEA) would like to thank its partners from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (EEA member countries and European Topic Centres, in particular the European Topic Centre on Human Health and the Environment), the European Food Safety Authority, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the European Commission Directorate General for Environment for their valuable contributions and input.

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1. Updated year-specific measurements among children during 2013–2024 were not incorporated into Figure 1 or the exposure modelling, as they became available after finalisation of the analytical dataset. Measurements from 2022 and 2024 also fall outside the 2000–2019 modelling period. Nevertheless, the results indicate a continued decline, with geometric mean BLLs among schoolchildren decreasing from 1.08 µg/dL in 2013 to 0.58 µg/dL in 2024.
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2. NUTS regions are the EU's standard statistical regions. NUTS 2 refers to larger regional units.
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3. Countries with actual human biomonitoring measurements within the assessment are Belgium, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The results for the rest are statistically modelled and should therefore be interpreted especially cautiously. It is also important to note that part of the modelling is based on dose-response functions from outside of the European Union, warranting additional caution in country-level estimates.
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4. In this case, the half-width of the estimate’s uncertainty interval (UI), a standard measure of statistical uncertainty.
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5. European Commission, Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) as regards lead in fishing tackle, Council Doc. ST 9232/26 & ADD 1 (May 2026). The scrutiny period expired in mid-2026 without formal objection; official publication is expected in autumn 2026.
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6. European Commission, Draft Commission Regulation amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) as regards lead in gunshot, EU REACH Committee Voting Record (July 2026). The three-month parliamentary and Council scrutiny period is scheduled to expire on October 10, 2026, with final publication in the Official Journal anticipated shortly thereafter.
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Blood lead levels have fallen by 60% in Europe, but lead exposure still claims lives

Average blood lead levels in Europe have fallen by around 60% since 2000, due to decades of measures to reduce lead pollution. However, between 62,000 and 310,000 premature deaths annually can still be associated with current lead exposure, according to a new European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing. Further action is needed to address remaining and legacy sources of lead.