Lead paint creates serious health risks, but this ad is from 1939, when lead in paint was normal. Many countries phased in bans starting in the 1970s or 80s, mandating lower and lower concentrations over time, or restricting permissible uses, or both. Some countries still allow unrestricted use of lead paint in 2026.
Lead exposure is very bad for anyone, especially children. Unlike certain other toxins, there's no known safe level of exposure, and it bioaccumulates. There are many other routes into the body besides paint, and some are associated with increased crime rates and intellectual deficits in children.
We still allow lead in small airplane fuel. Just blow it all into the air.
Yep. I did the math once. The 54 hours it took me to earn my private pilot training, burning some 7.5 gallons of 100LL avgas per hour put enough lead into the air to fill a match box. Right around a cubic inch of solid lead.