Lead Poisoning in Old Homes: DIYers Beware

WASHINGTON -- If you've been putting off repairing a peeling windowsill, or you're thinking of knocking out a wall, listen up: Check how old your house is. You may need to take steps to protect your kids from dangerous lead.

The risk of lead-based paint from older homes is back in the news, as the government considers tightening the definition of lead poisoning in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Lower levels than previously thought may harm their developing brains.

That's a scary-sounding message. But from a practical standpoint, it's not clear how much would change if the government follows that advice. Already there's been a big drop in childhood lead poisoning in the U.S. over the past few decades. Public health programs have targeted the youngsters most at risk -- poor children living in crumbling housing, mostly in cities - to try to get them tested and their homes cleaned up.

But specialists say it can be a risk in more affluent areas, too, as do-it-yourselfers embark on fix-ups without knowing anything about an environmental hazard that long ago faded from the headlines.

The main value of the proposed change may be in increasing awareness of how to avoid lead in everyday life.

"What we need to do is prevent the exposure in the first place," said Dr. Nicholas Newman, who directs the environmental health and lead clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

There are lots of ways people can be exposed to lead: Soil polluted from the leaded gasoline of yesteryear. Old plumbing with lead solder. Improperly using lead-glazed pottery or leaded crystal with food. Certain jobs that expose workers to the metal. Hobbies like refinishing old painted furniture.

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Sometimes even imported toys or children's jewelry can have illegal lead levels, prompting recalls if they're caught on the U.S. market.

But the main way that U.S. children are exposed is from layers of old paint in buildings built before 1978, when lead was banned from residential paint.

Sure, the walls might have been painted over recently, and there may be no obvious paint chips to attract a tot crawling around on the floor. But friction from opening and closing windows and doors allows tiny leaded particles to make their way into household dust - and youngsters then get it on their hands that go into their mouths, explained Dr. John Rosen, a lead poisoning specialist at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

Very high lead levels can cause coma, convulsions, even death, fortunately a rarity today. But lower levels, especially in children under 6, can harm a child's brain, can reduce IQ and cause other learning, attention and behavioral problems - without any obvious symptoms to alert the parent.

How much is too much? Until now, the definition of lead poisoning in young children was 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. But in a draft report last fall, the National Toxicology Program analyzed recent scientific research to conclude there's good evidence that levels lower than 10 are a risk. Now advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging that agency to lower the definition to 5 micrograms for now, periodically reassessing.

If the CDC agrees, its advisers estimated that could classify about 450,000 children with lead poisoning, up from roughly 250,000 today.

At these levels, there's no treatment for the child other than to end the ongoing exposure - clean up the house, Newman stressed. That's why prevention is so important. And while the youngest children are the most vulnerable, lead's not good for anyone's brain, so he advises taking common-sense precautions before potential exposures like renovating an old home.

What should families do? Here's advice from the Environmental Protection Agency and public health agencies:

• Check the age of your house. At checkups for babies through age 5, pediatricians are supposed to ask if you live in a home built before 1960, or one built before 1978 that's recently undergone renovation. The answers help guide who may need a blood test to check lead levels. Some states require testing of toddlers on Medicaid.

• Wash kids' hands before they eat, good advice no matter where you live or how old your house.

• Clean up paint chips immediately, and regularly wash toys that tots put in their mouths.

• Regularly wash windowsills and floors where paint dust can collect.

• If you're planning repairs or renovation in an old building, use lead-certified contractors who must follow EPA rules to minimize exposure from the work and can perform quality tests to see if your old paint really contains lead.

• If you rent and have peeling paint, notify your landlord. Many cities and states have lead-abatement rules, and programs to contact for help.

• Aside from paint, take off shoes at the door, to minimize tracking in lead-tainted soil.

• Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula, and run it for 15 to 30 seconds. Hot tap water can pick up more lead from older plumbing than cold water.

For more tips on home improvement see these AOL Real Estate guides:
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Reader Comments (7)

by Mike - January 9th 2012 @ 4:45PM

How did myself and 10s of millions of other kids survive the 40s 50s and 60s my gosh there was lead everywhere on everything,, im thinking we were super babies and kids or the current /last 20 yrs of panic is overblown greatly

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by mike smith - January 9th 2012 @ 8:25PM

y dont they say anything about the asbestos in the blow in insulation all across the country that came from cheneys mines up north

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by Derf - January 9th 2012 @ 5:32PM

Certainly one of the sillier articles I've read recently. For those of you over 60, you can remember all those toothpaste tubes we used as children (that stayed rolled up). They were made from lead. Pure lead. And we survived. Yes, a little lead is a little dangerous and more lead is a little more dangerous. Just imagine how much lead leached out of those tubes into the toothpaste which we then brushed with. Now the government wants to make another vast "lead elimination project" at a cost of zillions of dollars. Hog Wash. (Or, Pig Snot, if you prefer).

by MM - January 9th 2012 @ 6:23PM

Lets make it harder and more expensive for contractors to make a living in this economy. Where is the plastic going after we use it to contain the lead? Oh, in the to the landfill to cause another problem. Let the government control 1 more thing, they do so well at everything else. If we want to cut spending, get rid of of the EPA and come up with a realistic way of keeping people safe.

by i love lead - January 9th 2012 @ 7:45PM

here we go again, enviromental whackos need some news. Lead paint is so gone . The only time it has been a problem is when the getto children are looking out the window and start chewing on the sill as thier baby daddy is hauled off to the clink

by sondbr - January 9th 2012 @ 8:57PM

Right on, that those of us over 60 and maybe younger than that survived with all the lead, asbesto, and whatever else the health crazies are constantly panicking about!! It's a big money making thing for those who charge a fortune to get rid of those things. It's all NUTS!

by Gina - January 9th 2012 @ 9:34PM

Oh please! I've bought and lived in 4 older homes that all have lead paint covering our walls! Sure we painted over the old paints and we didn't raise ignorant starving kids that had nothing better to do than eat paint chips so our kids were never effected by the lead based paints in our homes!
We had asbestos tiles in our basement laundry room and didn't know it until we had a pipe break and our insurance company came in to evaluate the claim. They had to call the EPA to come in and remove the tiles in the proper manner which was basically sealing off all vents and doorways and spraying the floor with water then shoveling up the old broken tiles. I've been sweeping and vacuming those tiles for years. Nobody ever told us they were dangerous when we bought the home and our inspector never said anything either. My Dad was an electrician for the Fisher Body GM plant downtown and was made to clean some asbestos at the plant when it was closing. Him and his crew did the cleaning and they weren't issued masks or anything. This was in the middle to late 80's and since then, every single one of those guys on that clean up crew including my Dad have all died one after the other of lung cancer. GM of course would never accept the blame and we were all told their team of lawyers will drag it out and normal people just don't have the money to fight those big corps. We all know what happened! Even a doctor came into my Dad's hospital room and said, "GM OWES YOU BIG"! Six men and one woman all died of cancer and they were all electricians at the plant. It doesn't take rocket science to figure out what went on there. GM can go to hell. They killed my father along with a bunch of other really good guys and one sweet woman. This is what we have to deal with here in the Detroit area. People with no money have no chance against the big corps so they use us until we die and nobody seems to care. So yes, lead paint is dangerous but there's WAY WORSE out there than old paint on the walls!

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