Lead Safety Awareness
What Homeowners
Need to Know
About Lead
1.
Your home could poison your child or children who visit it. If your house was built before 1978, it may have lead-based paint; if it was built before 1960 it almost certainly does.
2.
Children most at risk are those younger than 7. Lead poisoning can cause brain damage, loss of IQ, learning disabilities and a tendency to violence. The damage is permanent.
3.
The symptoms of lead poisoning are subtle, not apparent; the only way to tell if your child is lead poisoned is to have a blood test. Ask your local health department or your child's physician to get your child tested.
4.
Lead dust in your home and lead in bare soil are the primary sources of lead poisoning. Children playing on the floor get lead dust or contaminated soil on their toys, blankets, clothes and on their hands that gets into their mouths. The lead dust may be invisible. The amount of dust EPA considers unsafe for kids is equal to a small packet of sweetener sprinkled over an area one third the size of a football field.
5.
The main sources of dust are deteriorated paint, paint in high friction areas (such as windows and doors), and lead soil tracked in from outdoors. Remodeling activities that disturb paint will create dust that will create a hazard for young children.
6.
The only way to know for sure if your house has lead hazards is to have a lead risk assessment performed by a trained and licensed professional, or a clearance examination after work that disturbs lead-based paint has been done. Otherwise, assume old paint contains lead and take precautions accordingly.
7.
If you are hiring a contractor to do work that will disturb paint, make sure to ask them what they will do to protect your family from lead dust. If they say it's not a problem, don't hire them. Ask questions to make sure they know how to work with lead paint safely, and that they will have an independent clearance examination after the work is done to confirm that the house meets federal standards for lead.
8.
If you are doing work on your house yourself, be sure to learn about and use "lead safe work practices." Get HUD's Field Guide "Lead Paint Safety," free at www.hud.gov/offices/lead/training/LBPguide.pdf for step-by-step help on doing the work safely.
9.
If you are selling or renting your home, you must pass on to potential buyers or tenants any information you have about lead in your home.
10.
Children are more susceptible to lead poisoning and experience more severe damage. However, adults with an elevated blood level can suffer reproductive problems, high blood pressure and hypertension, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems and muscle and joint pain.
What to ask your contractor before starting work...
1. Does my home have lead-based paint?
If your house was built prior to 1978, it very likely has lead-based paint. Contractors working in pre-1978 homes are required by law to provide you with EPA's informational pamphlet "Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home" - even before you ask.
2. How will you keep lead dust from harming my family?
Contractors working in your home must use "lead-safe work practices." This includes hanging plastic sheeting to isolate the work area, posting warning signs, cleaning up thoroughly every day, and avoiding paint removal techniques that create a lot of dust or vapors. These techniques include dry sanding or scraping, open flame burning or torching, high temperature heat guns, abrasive blasting or sandblasting without high efficiency particulate exhaust control.
3. Are your employees trained to work with lead-based paint safely?
Remodelers and renovators are not required to be trained to work in your home yet. However, starting in April of 2010, all contractors disturbing paint on the walls of home built before 1978 must be trained and lead certified. Currently, federal training in lead-safe work practices is available for all contractors. A contractor whose employees have been trained, who supervises his workers to make sure that they follow their training, and who hires an independent inspector after the work is done will do a better job of protecting your family from lead exposure.
4. What will you do to make sure my house is free of lead dust after the job is done?
Lead dust can be invisible and it doesn't take much to make your child sick. The only way to be sure that the house is safe, even after thorough cleaning of the work area and air vents, is to have a "clearance exam." That's when a trained professional who doesn't work for the contractor takes dust wipe samples from floors and window sills to see how much lead dust remains. If your contractor will have a clearance exam done, check to make sure the examiner is licensed by your state.
5. What laws or regulations apply to the work you will do in my home and how will you comply with them?
If a home was built in 1978 or earlier, contractors are required by state and federal law to notify owners and tenants that they may be disturbing lead-based paint. They also must provide the EPA pamphlet " Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools" starting in December 2008. In addition, contractors in some states may not use work practices that create a lot of lead dust or vapors when disturbing more than a minimum amount of lead-based paint.