Despite the fact that lead is found naturally in the earth's crust, it is a metal considered to be one of the world’s main sources of contamination, given the physical characteristics and the negative effects it generates in the environment and in people's health. The main origins include mining, metallurgy, manufacturing and recycling activities and, in some countries, the persistent use of paints and aviation fuel.

When used in industrial activities and mixed with dust it can be inhaled or ingested by human beings, which leads to its accumulation in different parts of the body, affecting the intelligence in children and causing behavioral problems and learning difficulties, among other consequences.

To reduce these effects, the use of leaded fuel for cars and trucks was banned globally during July 2021 (after nearly two decades of campaign of the Partnership for Clean Fuels and Vehicles led by the United Nations Environment Programme). This regulation, in addition to other laws established in Chile, prohibited as of 1997, the production, importation, distribution, sale and use of decorative paints with a concentration of lead exceeding 600 ppm.

Therefore, the WHO has established this metal as one of the 10 chemicals that evoke a major concern of public health, hence expecting that in the coming years strict protocols will be established for the disposal of waste containing them, as to preventing its production, as well.