Lead was ubiquitous when I was a small boy. The
water tanks were all sealed with lead solder and pretty well all the auto
fuel had it in and was spewing it into the atmosphere.
There's a theory that Rome declined because of lead in the
water from the lead pipes.
However, comparing the craziness levels in society between then and now I'm beginning to suspect that we should be putting lead back into the water supply and gasoline.