Lead in the Roman Empire

In the Roman Empire they were using lead as commonly spread material since it was easy to process it. People had no idea how dangerous for their health was this metal. And they were using it to make pipelines and kitchen ware. There is even a theory that the lead was the cause of the downfall of the Roman Empire. As they were taking this poison with the food, the Romans were exposed to risks of suffering from brain and neural damage and this used to continue through the generations. So Roman children were born from lead poisoned parents and when they grew up they were always exposed to lead poisoning. I don’t know but I am tend to agree that there is a point in such a theory.