Lead-based paint is hazardous to your 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. |
Children should be screened for lead poisoning:
| In communities where the houses are older and/or deteriorating, take
advantage of available screening programs offered by local health
departments and have children checked regularly to see if they are suffering
from lead poisoning. Because the early symptoms of lead poisoning are easy
to confuse with other illnesses, it is difficult to diagnose lead poisoning
without medical testing. |
| Early symptoms may include persistent tiredness, irritability, loss of
appetite, stomach discomfort, reduced attention span, insomnia, and
constipation. Failure to treat children in the early stages can cause
long-term or permanent health damage. |
| The current blood lead level, which defines lead poisoning, is 10
micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. However, since poisoning may
occur at lower levels than previously thought, various federal agencies are
considering whether this level should be lowered further so that lead
poisoning prevention programs will have the latest information on testing
children for lead poisoning. |
Consumers can be exposed to lead from paint:
| Eating paint chips is one way young children are exposed to lead. It is
not the most common way that consumers, in general, are exposed to lead.
Ingesting and inhaling lead dust that is created as lead-based paint
"chalks," chips, or peels from deteriorated surfaces can expose consumers to
lead. Walking on small paint chips found on the floor, or opening and
closing a painted frame window, can also create lead dust. Other sources of
lead include deposits that may be present in homes after years of use of
leaded gasoline and from industrial sources like smelting. Consumers can
also generate lead dust by sanding lead-based paint or by scraping or
heating lead-based paint. |
| Lead dust can settle on floors, walls, and furniture. Under these
conditions, children can ingest lead dust from hand-to-mouth con- tact or in
food. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air through cleaning, such as
sweeping or vacuuming, or by movement of people throughout the house. |
Older homes may contain lead based paint:
| Lead was used as a pigment and drying agent in "alkyd" oil based paint.
"Latex" water based paints generally have not contained lead. About
two-thirds of the homes built before 1940 and one-half of the homes built
from 1940 to 1960 contain heavily leaded paint. Some homes built after 1960
also contain heavily leaded paint. It may be on any interior or exterior
surface, particularly on woodwork, doors, and windows. In 1978, the U.S.
Consumer Product Safety Commission lowered the legal maximum lead content in
most kinds of paint to 0.06% (a trace amount). Consider having the paint in
homes constructed before the 1980s tested for lead before renovating or if
the paint or underlying surface is deteriorating. This is particularly
important if infants, children, or pregnant women are present. |
Consumers can have paint tested for lead:
| There are do-it-yourself kits available. However, the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission has not evaluated any of these kits. One home
test kit uses sodium sulfide solution. This procedure requires you to place
a drop of sodium sulfide solution on a paint chip. The paint chip slowly
turns darker if lead is present. There are problems with this test,
however. Other metals may cause false positive results, and resins in the
paint may prevent the sulfide from causing the paint chip to change color.
Thus, the presence of lead may not be correctly indicated. In addition, the
darkening may be detected only on very light-colored paint. |
| Another in-home test requires a trained professional who can operate the
equipment safely. This test uses X-ray fluorescence to determine if the
paint contains lead. Although the test can be done in your home, it should
be done only by professionals trained by the equipment manufacturer or who
have passed a state or local government training course, since the equipment
contains radioactive materials. In addition, in some tests, the method has
not been reliable. |
| Consumers may choose to have a testing laboratory test a paint sample for
lead. Lab testing is considered more reliable than other methods. Lab
tests may cost from $20 to $50 per sample. To have the lab test for lead
paint, consumers may: |
| 1. Get sample containers from the lab or use re-sealable plastic bags.
Label the containers or bags with the consumer's name and the location in
the house from which each paint sample was taken. Several samples should
be taken from each affected room (see HUD Guidelines discussed below).
|
| 2. Use a sharp knife to cut through the edges of the sample paint. The
lab should tell you the size of the sample needed. It will probably be
about 2 inches by 2 inches. |
| 3. Lift off the paint with a clean putty knife and put it into the
container. Be sure to take a sample of all layers of paint, since only
the lower layers may contain lead. Do not include any of the underlying
wood, plaster, metal, and brick. |
| 4. Wipe the surface and any paint dust with a wet cloth or paper towel
and discard the cloth or towel. |
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recommends
that action to reduce exposure should be taken when the lead in paint is
greater than 0.5% by lab testing or greater than 1.0 milligrams per square
centimeter by X-ray fluorescence. Action is especially important when paint
is deteriorating or when infants, children, or pregnant women are present.
Consumers can reduce exposure to lead-based paint.
If you have lead-based paint, you should take
steps to reduce your exposure to lead:
You can:
Have the painted item replaced:
| You can replace a door or other easily removed item if you can do it
without creating lead dust. Items that are difficult to remove should be
replaced by professionals who will control and contain lead dust. |
Cover the lead-based paint:
| You can spray the surface with a sealant or cover it with gypsum
wallboard. However, painting over lead-based paint with non-lead paint is
not a long-term solution. Even though the lead-based paint may be covered
by non-lead paint, the lead-based paint may continue to loosen from the
surface below and create lead dust. The new paint may also partially mix
with the lead-based paint, and lead dust will be released when the new
paint begins to deteriorate. |
Have the lead-based paint removed:
| Have professionals trained in removing lead-based paint do this work.
Each of the paint-removal methods (sandpaper, scrapers, chemicals,
sandblasters, and torches or heat guns) can produce lead fumes or dust.
Fumes or dust can become airborne and be inhaled or ingested. Wet methods
help reduce the amount of lead dust. Removing moldings, trim, window
sills, and other painted surfaces for professional paint stripping outside
the home may also create dust. Be sure the professionals contain the lead
dust. Wet-wipe all surfaces to remove any dust or paint chips. Wet-clean
the area before re-entry. |
| You can remove a small amount of lead-based paint if you can avoid
creating any dust. Make sure the surface is less than about one square
foot (such as a window sill). Any job larger than about one square foot
should be done by professionals. Make sure you can use a wet method (such
as a liquid paint stripper). |
Reduce lead dust exposure:
| You can periodically wet mop and wipe surfaces and floors with a high
phosphorous (at least 5%) cleaning solution. Wear waterproof gloves to
prevent skin irritation. Avoid activities that will disturb or damage
lead based paint and create dust. This is a preventive measure and is not
an alternative to replacement or removal. |
Contact your state and local health departments lead poisoning
prevention programs and housing authorities for information about testing
labs and contractors who can safely remove lead-based paint.
The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) prepared guidelines for
removing lead-based paint. Ask contractors about their qualifications,
experience removing lead-based paint, and plans to follow these guidelines.
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