by Steven A. Melnick — While listening to the radio over the past week or so, I’ve noticed quite a few warnings about the dangers of lead paint in the home, particularly those built prior to 1978, and its effect on children. I’m not sure what triggered it becoming so prominent at this time, but I thought I’d do a brief post today about the dangers of lead paint and how it can effect children for life. Importantly, I also am providing a few links for additional information. If you have small children or are pregnant, please look into this serious threat to good health.
Lead-based paint is a major source of lead poisoning for children and can also affect adults. In children, lead poisoning can cause irreversible brain damage and can impair mental functioning. It can retard mental and physical development and reduce attention span. It can also retard fetal development even at extremely low levels of lead. In adults, it can cause irritability, poor muscle coordination, and nerve damage to the sense organs and nerves controlling the body. Lead poisoning may also cause problems with reproduction (such as a decreased sperm count). It may also increase blood pressure. Thus, young children, fetuses, infants, and adults with high blood pressure are the most vulnerable to the effects of lead. (Consumer Product Safety Commission)
More information about the health effects of lead can be found at the Environmental Protection Agency website.
Following are some additional resources that provide helpful information.
Lead in Your Home: A Parent’s Reference Guide
Lead Poisoning and Your Children
If you suspect you have old paint in your house, there are a number of ways to have it tested.
- Many paint stores sell do-it-yourself test kits. When rubbed against a surface that contains lead, the test strips change color. They only test for the presence of lead and cannot tell you if the amount of lead is dangerous. While better than doing nothing, from what I’ve read, these kits do not tend to provide reliable information.
- Get an accredited laboratory to test some paint samples. You would carefully collect paint chips as instructed by the lab, seal them in appropriate containers, and mark where the sample was taken from. These tests are more reliable than the paint store versions. Your state’s Department of Environmental Protection should be able to provide a list of accredited labs in your area.
- Hire a certified professional to come in and inspect your home. This is the most costly approach but probably the most thorough.
Since April 22, 2010 new Environmental Protection Agency rules go into effect for contractors who do renovations on almost all homes built prior to 1978. A new federal rule requires renovators to be trained and certified in EPA-approved methods of containing and cleaning up work areas aimed at reducing exposure to toxic lead-paint chips and dust. If you are having any work done on an older home, be sure to ask to see proof that the contractor is certified.
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