Amber Lead (2024)

Amber Lead was a white ore that was found only in the country of Flevance.^[1]

Overview[]

Amber Lead was a naturally occurring ore that made the soil and plants of the land where it was found a beautiful shade of white, said to be like a fairytale kingdom of snow.

Products containing Amber Lead possessed a shiny white coating that made it a highly-coveted mineral, leading to mining operations in Flevance which allowed the city's economy to flourish. The mineral would be used to color a wide range of products, including wall paint, pottery, makeup, and weapons.

The country was consequently nicknamed the "White City" and for a time, its citizens lived in prosperity. Ironically enough, however, the ore would be the cause of the kingdom's downfall. Over a century ago, the World Government discovered in their geological surveys of the island the poisonous nature of the ore when exposed to the skin. If left unearthed, the ore is harmless, but when handled, it erodes the body from the inside out, though rather subtly and developing slowly. Despite being aware of the mineral's effects, out of greed, the government and royalty of Flevance withheld the discovery from the public, as all infected people showed no noticeable symptoms until it's in its final stages.

However, as the disease shortens the lifespan of each subsequent generation and causes the symptoms to appear that much earlier, it caused the citizens of Flevance from different generations to appear to all fall ill around the same time. In response to this, neighboring countries imposed a quarantine on the town, incorrectly believing the disease to be contagious. Believing their actions to be self-defense, they killed all infected citizens attempting to escape the town with extreme prejudice. When the citizens fought back, the countries responded by opening fire on them, destroying Flevance and killing all its inhabitants with Law being the sole survivor.^[1]

Even after the town had been destroyed, the truth about the disease was never revealed to the public, not even to doctors.^[2] Currently, the only ones aware of the non-contagious nature of the disease are a few people who were affiliated with the World Government, such as Doflamingo.

Amber Lead Syndrome[]

Amber Lead Syndrome (珀鉛病, Hakuen-byō^?) is a non-contagious, hereditary disease caused by the accumulation of Amber Lead in the victim's body after prolonged exposure to the mineral. Amber Lead poisoning is unnoticeable in its early stages when in low concentration, but its effects are observable, given that each infected person's descendants had noticeably shorter lifespans. This is due to the fact that the disease is passed on to the next generation, resulting in every subsequent generation having a shorter lifespan than the previous one. Around the Golden Age of Piracy, the poison had accumulated to the point where a generation of children would die before coming of age and leaving any descendants.

In the final stage when the Amber Lead concentration in the body is fatally high, symptoms of the disease become more visible. White blotches of skin appear on the victim's epidermisand their hair becomes bleach white. They also feel intense chronic pains in their bodies, leaving them in agonyuntil their eventual death. Since it affects subsequent generations at earlier points in their lifespan, all people infected started showing the final stages of the disease at around the same time, making it appear like a contagion.

Because the disease was unknown to the public until it was too late, no doctors at the time were able to create an effective treatment for the disease. However, Doflamingo predicted that the disease was curable using a Devil Fruit, due to the varied array of powers they hold.^[3] His prediction was proven correct as Trafalgar D. Water Law was able to cure the disease using the Ope Ope no Mi, making him the only person to survive the disease.^[4] As such, there is currently no one living with Amber Lead Syndrome.

Translation and Dub Issues[]

Hakuen (珀鉛^?) is not a real kanji compound in the Japanese language. The first kanji 珀 means amber and is pronounced haku. It contains the radical 白, meaning "white," which can also be pronounced haku (for example, in Hakuba the White Horse). This makes a pun, in that Hakuen can also mean "white lead," which is appropriate considering the color of the substance and Flevance's reputation as the White City.

In the real world, white lead is a naturally occurring mineral that has been banned for causing lead poisoning. The actual Japanese spelling for that white lead is 鉛白 (pronounced Enpaku).

Trivia[]

• Amber Lead is similar to asbestos, a highly profitable mineral once used globally and found in all kinds of goods. Use of asbestos was discontinued when it was discovered to cause serious and even fatal diseases. Much like in the case of Amber Lead, many governments initially ignored the scientific and medical reports about asbestos's toxicity, continuing to allow its use into the 1980's, even with its negative effects having been discovered in the 1890's.
• The symptoms of amber lead poisoning also resemble those of cadmium poisoning, known in Japan as "Itai-itai disease" (イタイイタイ病^?, literally meaning "it hurts-it hurts disease"). Similarly to the amber lead syndrome, cadmium poisoning is known to cause pain all over the body and paleness of the skin. The fate of Flevance also mirrors cases of cadmium poisoning in Japan during its industrial revolution in the early 20th century. As the need for metal continued to grow, pollution from mining operations went unchecked, eventually resulting in rivers being contaminated with cadmium. The water from the river was used for rice field irrigation, and eventually poison began to slowly accumulate in the bodies of people eating the rice.
• Amber Lead is also possibly a reference to the chemical element arsenic, which possess similar symptoms, such as that it accumulates slowly in the body, cannot be flushed, and eventually reached deadly levels. The story of the relationship between Salsigne, Arsenic, and Gold Mining, in which during the 18th century, in Salsigne, France, gold mining operations coincided with arsenic mining due to the minerals happening to be collocated in the southwestern region of the country. Even the name of the country afflicted, "Flevance", is a possible nod to the real-world country, France, where Salsigne is found.
• Real lead also has the ability to pass through parent to child. Lead settles within the bones, and the increased need for calcium during pregnancy can cause this lead to re-enter the bloodstream. When in the bloodstream, either from accumulated or active poisoning, lead can pass through the placental barrier, and can even taint breast milk.

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