Lead acetate is a chemical compound that is a white crystalline substances having slight acetic acid odour with a sweetish taste. Like other heavy metals compounds it is toxic. Lead acetate is soluble in water and glycerin (Seacole, 1990).
Types of lead acetate
There are two major types of lead acetate. Lead (ii) acetate is also known as lead acetate, lead diacetate, plumbous acetate, and sugar of lead, salt of Saturn and Goulard’s powder. It is a white crystalline with a sweetish taste. It is made by treating lead (ii) oxide with acetic acid. Like other lead compound, it is toxic. Lead acetate is soluble in water to forms the trihydrate, Pb (CH3COO) 2 .3H2O, a colorless substance (Pradyot, et al., 2003).
Production of lead acetate
Lead acetate can be made by boiling element lead in acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide. It is also possible to create with lead carbonate or lead oxide.
Lead (IV) acetate
Lead (IV) acetate is also known as lead tetracetate. It is a chemical compound with chemical formula PB (c2H3O2)4 and is a lead salt of acetic acid.
It is commercially available often stabilized with acetic acid. It can be prepared by reaction of red lead with acetic acid. It is a strong oxidizing agent.
Lead acetates are fatal if ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through skin. It causes irritation to skin, eye and respiratory tract. It is a neurotoxin. It affects the gum tissues, central nervous system (CNS), kidneys, liver, blood and reproductive system of rat (Staudinger et al., 1998).
References
Pradyol, P. (2003). Handbook of inorganic chemical. The McGray Hill Companies, Inc
Seacole, M. (1990). Properties of lead acetate, http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lead-acetate
Staudinger Kerth Vs. (1998). “ occupational lead poisonng” Am Fam Physician 57 (4): 719-26, 731-2
