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Home Tips Article Series
What
If I Have Excessive Lead Around My Home?
Lead
exposure in home is high enough to threaten the health
of occupants. It occurs when too much lead builds
up in the body. Lead exposure can cause learning behavior,
health problems in children, and high blood pressure and damage
to kidneys and reproductive organs in adults. Often there are
no symptoms until health problems are very serious, but they
can include loss of appetite, irritability, constipation, loss
of recently acquired skills, headache, stomach cramps, drowsiness,
lack of energy and disrupted sleep patterns.
Sources
of lead include cracking, chipping, and peeling of
lead-based paint, dust from paint chips, soil next to buildings
with chipped paint or near homes that have been remodeled or
torn down, areas near heavy traffic, or water if the home water
system has lead pipes or copper pipes joined with lead solder.
Children 6 years old and younger who are living in homes that
were built before 1960 are mostly at risk of lead exposure.
Persons remodeling homes may also be at risk if the paint has
lead in it. (The amount of lead used in household paint was
not limited until 1978.) A simple blood test at a local public
health clinic or family doctor can determine whether there
is too much lead in the body.
Your local health department can tell you how to have the
paint in your home tested for lead. Lead-based paint may have
been used on cribs, highchairs, windows, woodwork, walls, doors,
railings, and ceilings. Don't let children eat or chew on anything
that may have paint on it; check for teeth marks on woodwork.
Clean windows often with soap and water because loose paint
and dust can build up in window areas.
The
best solution is to remove the lead source; painting over
chipping or peeling lead-based paint does not make it safe.
If you can't remove peeling or chipping lead-based paint right
away, block off areas, cover with masking tape, or move cribs
or beds away from the wall.
Since dust
can be contaminated, keep the home as dust-free
as possible, using a trisodium phosphate detergent to wet mop
floors and wipe furniture and windowsills. Wash children's
hands before eating, naps, and bedtime. Wash bottles, teething
rings, and toys often. Keep windows closed on windy days to
keep the dust out.
Don't let children eat outside on the ground, eat dirt, or
play right next to the home or the street. Take shoes off before
entering the home to avoid tracking dust inside. Wash fruits
and vegetables throughly before eating and remove outer leaves
of leafy vegetables. Don't store juices or food in open cans.
Plant gardens away from the house. Don't use home remedies
that contain lead; use non-aspirin pain relievers instead.
Plumbing
installed before 1930 may contain lead pipes; homes built
before the 1980s may have water pipes joined with lead-based
solder. Have your water tested by a certified lab. If you suspect
that lead is in your water, let it run for a couple of minutes,
or until there is a temperature change each time it has been
sitting in the pipes for 6 hours or more. Don't cook, drink,
or make baby formula with water from the hot water faucet;
hot water dissolves more lead than cold water. If you need
hot water, take it from the cold water faucet and heat it.
Keep
in mind that removing lead-based paint incorrectly can cause
a serious health threat. It should be done by a qualified
contractor who knows safe removal methods, how to contain
lead-contaminated debris, and the proper cleanup and disposal
of the debris. Special protective clothing and respirators
must be worn. Vacuum cleaners with "high efficiency particulate air
(HEPA)" filters should be used to clean up dust and debris,
areas need to be washed with a trisodium phosphate detergent,
then re-vacuumed with the HEPA vacuum a second time. Young
children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and pets should
not be allowed in the home while the cleanup is being done.
Those who work in jobs that require the use of lead such as
painters, remodelers, or workers in smelters or battery plants
should shower and change clothes before coming home.
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SolveYourProblem.com : 2007
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