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Lead Is Still Around!!!

Contents of this Article

Important Lead Facts What is Lead? Common Uses of Lead Symptoms of Lead Poisoning Lead Poisoning Prevention

What Causes Lead Dust? Testing Your Home for Lead Reduce or Eliminate Lead-Based Paint Hazards Lead Effects the Body in Many Ways Are You Planning to Buy, Rent, or Renovate a Home Built Before 1978?

Lead Poisoning Prevention

Lead poisoning can be prevented. It is up to you to keep your family safe from lead hazards in your home. If you think your home has high levels of lead, you can begin right now by following the steps listed below:

• If your house was built before 1978 and has paint in poor condition, have your home tested for lead hazards. If you have any lead hazards, get them fixed.
• If you rent, talk to your landlord about fixing surfaces with peeling or chipping paint.
• Drinking Water - Your home might have plumbing with lead or lead solder. Older water well pumps made with brass or bronze parts that contain lead can also contaminate drinking water. The amount of lead in your water depends on the types and amounts of mineral in the water, how long the water stays in the pipes, the amount of wear in the pipes, the water's acidity, and its temperature. Lead can leach into water at any temperature, but the amount of lead can be much greater when the water is hot or warm. Call either the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791 or your local health department or water supplier to find out about testing your water. You cannot see, smell or taste lead, and boiling your water will not get rid of lead. Carbon, sand, and cartridge filters do not remove lead from water, although some filters are "certified" for lead removal. If you think your plumbing might have lead in it:
  • Use only cold water for drinking and cooking.
  • The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that you flush your cold water pipes if they have not been used in over 6 hours by running water until it is cold (5 seconds to 2 minutes) before drinking or cooking with it.
  • If your water has been tested high in lead, consider installing an effective filtering device or switch to bottled water for drinking and cooking.

• Get yourself and your family tested for lead poisoning. Get your children tested for lead poisoning, even if they seem healthy. Consult your doctor for advice on testing your children. A simple blood test can detect high levels of lead. Your doctor can explain what the test results mean and if more testing is needed. Some states and localities require the parents of children with high levels of lead in their blood to have the lead hazards abated (permanent lead hazard elimination) by a certified contractor.Many people mistake the symptoms of lead poisoning for other common illnesses, such as a cold or the flu. Sometimes there are no symptoms at all.
• Wash children's hands and faces, bottles, pacifiers, toys, and stuffed animals regularly, especially before they eat and before nap time and bed time. Lead enters the body through the mouth or nose. Lead is not absorbed through the skin. Because young children frequently put their thumbs and fingers and objects they handle in their mouths, they are easily poisoned from chronic (life long) ingestion of lead paint chips and house dust or soil that may have lead particles in it.
  
• Make sure your children eat healthy, low-fat foods. Children with good diets absorb less lead.
  
• Do not allow children to chew or mouth window sills or other painted surfaces.
• Never allow children to play under windows or around painted surfaces that often rub together or get bumped.
• Young children are more likely to play in dirt, on porches or fences, then place their hands and other objects in their mouths, thereby increasing the opportunity for exposure via ingestion of lead-contaminated soil and dust. Soil can become contaminated when exterior lead-based paint residues from houses, buildings, or other structures flakes or peels and gets into the soil, lead residues that remain unless removed. Soil near roadways may also be contaminated from past use of leaded gasoline in cars. Have children play in grassy areas instead of soil.
• Children and pregnant women should avoid frequent use of crystal glassware. Never feed babies from crystal baby bottles.
• Keep Your Home Clean. Wipe up dust and any paint chips with a wet sponge or rag. The most common household lead hazards are lead-based paint, lead dust, and contaminated soil. Exposure to lead-contaminated dust, not lead-based paint, it the "most common way" to get lead poisoning. Regularly clean floors, window frames and sills, doors and door frames, stairs, railings, and banisters, and other surfaces of dust and tracked in soil from outside. Use a damp or wet mop or standard sponge or string type mop with warm water and a general all-purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead. Thoroughly rinse sponges and mop heads after cleaning dirty or dusty areas.
  IMPORTANT: NEVER MIX AMMONIA AND BLEACH PRODUCTS TOGETHER SINCE THEY CAN FORM A DANGEROUS GAS!!
  
  • On Uncarpeted Floors
    Do:
    • Do use damp or wet mopping.
    • Do use standard sponge or string type mops.
    • Do use standard vacuum cleaners if no visible dust or debris from chipping or flaking paint is present.
  • Don't:
    • Do not use mops with a scrubber strip attached.
    • Do not use powered buffing or polishing machines.
    • Do not use vacuums with beater bars that may wear away the painted surface.
  • On Carpets and Rugs
    Do:
    • Do use wet scrubbing methods to remove stains.
    • Do use steam cleaning methods.
    • Do use standard vacuum cleaners if no visible dust or debris from chipping or flaking paint is present.
  • Don't:
    • Do not use "dry" sweeping of surface dust and debris.
    • Do not shake or beat carpets and rugs.
  • Cleaning Walls
    Do:
    • Do use soft cloths to wet wipe walls.
    • Do use an all purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead.
  • Don't:
    • Do not use steel wool, scouring pads, and abrasive cleaners.
    • Do not use solvent cleaners that may dissolve the paint.
  • Cleaning Other Painted Surfaces
    Do:
    • Do use soft cloths.
    • Do use an all purpose cleaner or a cleaner made specifically for lead.
  • Don't:
    • Do not use abrasive cleaners and scouring pads.
    • Do not use solvent cleaners that may dissolve the paint.
    • Do not use excessive rubbing of spots to remove them.
  • Dusting
    Do:
    • Do use disposable, non-abrasive dusting cloths or dusters.
• Clean or remove your shoes before entering your home. Soil can become contaminated when exterior lead-based paint from houses, buildings, or other structures flakes or peels and gets into the soil. Soil near roadways may also be contaminated from past use of leaded gasoline in cars. Have children play in grassy areas instead of soil. Avoid these areas when planting vegetable gardens.
• Avoid some types of paints and pigments that contain lead and are used as make-up or hair dyes, especially those with lead acetate. Keep these kinds of products away from children.
• Remove tin-coated lead foil capsules on wine bottles before pouring. Before removing the cork, wipe the bottle neck and rim and the cork top with a clean wet cloth. FDA banned these capsules in 1996 after a study by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found that 3 to 4 percent of wines examined could become contaminated during pouring from lead residues deposited on the mouth of the bottle by the foil capsule. U.S. winemakers stopped using lead foils before the ban, but older bottles with the foils may still be around.
• Never use ceramicware that gets chalky after washing. Avoid storing acidic foods like juice and vinegar in ceramic holloware. If pregnant, avoid daily use of ceramic mugs for hot beverages like coffee and tea. Stick to commercially made items. If you're unsure whether a food serving item is made from lead-based materials, you can check with the manufacturer. Test antiques with a kit from the hardware store. And never use items marked "decorative use only" for food. Such items bought outside the United States may not be so labeled, potentially posing serious risk if used for food.
• If you work with lead at your job, you could bring lead home on your clothes, hands, hair, skin, or shoes. Shower and change clothes before coming home. Launder your work clothes separately from the rest of your family's clothes. Occupations that may expose workers to lead include painting, smelters, firearms instruction, automotive repair, brass or copper foundries, and bridge, tunnel and elevated highway construction. To help protect workers from such exposure, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration calls for removal of workers from the workplace if their blood lead levels reach 50 mcg/dL. EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) limits lead emissions from certain industries.

While lead-based paint, dust, and soil are the most common sources of lead, other lead sources also exist. A few examples are:

• Old painted toys and furniture such as cribs or playpens made before 1978.
• Food and liquids stored in lead crystal or lead-glazed pottery or porcelain.
• Certain hobbies that use lead, such as making pottery or stained glass, or refinishing furniture. Try not to work on these hobbies in your home.
• Folk remedies that contain lead can cause lead poisoning, such as "greta" and "azarcon" used in Hispanic and Asian communities to treat an upset stomach, diarrhea or other ailments. Other examples include alarcon, coral, liga, maria luisa, ghasard, alkohl, bali goli, and rueda. Another is "Pay loo ah," which is a red powder used to treat a rash or fever. Putting lead into a human body is dangerous, and it does not cure such ailments.
• People living near hazardous waste sites, lead smelters or refineries, battery recycling or crushing centers, or other industries that release lead into the air may be exposed to lead and chemicals that contain lead.
• Workers in occupations that have sources of lead exposure, such as plumbers, miners, mechanics, and lead smelter or refinery workers.
• Car repairs, such as radiator repair, can contribute to lead exposure.
• Some imported, non-glossy, vinyl miniblinds can be a lead hazard, especially to young children. Sunlight and heat can break down the blinds and may release lead-contaminated dust. Children who touch the miniblinds and put their fingers in their mouths may ingest the lead particles. It is best to remove these blinds if you have children who are 6 or younger. If you purchase new miniblinds, look for products with these labels:
  • "New Formulation"
  • "Non-leaded formula"
  • "No lead added"
  • "New! Non-leaded vinyl formulation"
• Smoking cigarettes or breathing second-hand smoke increases exposure because tobacco smoke contains small amounts of lead. More examples listed in Common Uses of Lead

If you think your home has high levels of lead, call the numbers below to help you prevent lead poisoning and eliminate the problem forever.

For More Information

There are state and federal programs in place to ensure that testing for lead is done safely, reliably, and effectively. Contact your state or local agency, or for more information on lead poisoning, or for other information on lead hazards call:

National Lead Information Center to speak with a lead information specialist.
1-800-424-LEAD (5323).

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline for information on lead hazards in your drinking water.
1-800-426-4791

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Hotline for information on lead in consumer products, or to report an unsafe consumer product or a product-related injury.
1-800-638-2772

For information on lead regulations, outreach efforts, and lead hazard control and research grant programs contact:

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control
451 Seventh Street, SW, P-3206
Washington, DC 20410
202-755-1785

Hearing Impaired call the Federal Information Relay Service
1-800-877-8339.

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The information provided in this summary is based upon scientific and technical understanding of the issues presented and is reflective of the jurisdictional boundaries established by the statutes governing the co-authoring agencies. Following the advice given will not necessarily provide complete protection in all situations or against all health hazards that can be caused by lead exposure.
U.S. EPA Washington DC 20460
U.S. CPSC Washington DC 20207
U.S. HUD Washington DC 20410
EPA747-K99-001
June 2003

References:
1) ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) - Department of Health and Human Services - January 2008 - www.atsdr.cdc.gov
2) EPA - United States Environmental Protection Agency - June 2003 - www.epa.gov
3) United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) - FDA Consumer - January - February 1998 - www.cfsan.fda.gov
4) National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - National Institutes of Health - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) - Jan 2008 - www.niehs.nih.gov

This summary is a general overview about the topic discussed and does not include all the facts, or include everything there is to know about any medicine and/or products mentioned. Do not use any medicine and/or products without first talking to your doctor. Possible side effects of medications, other than those listed, may occur. Full Disclaimer & General Safety Advisory