Watch Out for Lead Dust

by Lisa Cochran, from the June 2000 Newsletter

Spring is the time of year we all start tackling those fair-weather projects we spent all winter contemplating. Painting the home is an especially popular spring/summer project, since doors and windows can be thrown open, minimizing both paint odors and drying time. But many home renovations like demolition, upgrading and painting can actually create a hazardous environment for a family as many homeowners unwittingly release dangerous lead particles into their living areas. Lead dust created from these projects can settle everywhere, impregnating carpets, curtains, bedding, or other exposed surfaces. These particles, both airborne and non-airborne, can continue to plague family members and compromise their health, particularly in children. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency cites lead poisoning as one of the greatest health threats to people of all ages. Children are especially vulnerable, even before they are born. Approximately 1 in 11 children has a high level of lead in their blood, and the younger the child, the more devastating the effect. Lead can damage brains and nervous systems, cause behavior and learning problems, slow growth, cause hearing problems and headaches. Adults with high levels of lead can have reproductive problems, difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, and memory and concentration problems. The truly scary thing about lead contamination is that it’s an invisible poison—children and adults may display no symptoms.

When I did an informal survey of moms in my baby group, we agreed that when we hear the term ‘lead poisoning,’ the image that comes to mind is a baby gnawing on a dilapidated windowsill in some rundown tenement. In fact, most homes built before 1960 throughout the land contain heavily leaded paint. Since the federal government did not ban lead-based paint from housing until much later, lead poisoning can occur in almost any structure built prior to 1978. Cracking, flaking or peeling paint is the most obvious problem that most of us are aware of, but a subtle form of contamination can occur in otherwise intact painted surfaces. Friction from surfaces rubbing together, such as doors or windows being opened and closed also can release harmful lead particulates into our homes! But perhaps the biggest blast of lead poisoning can occur during renovation work when any surface containing lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded or heated. If improperly contained and removed, the lead dust created settles on everything from window blinds to a child's toys. It is then disturbed and redistributed with normal activity, like vacuuming, dusting, or just walking about, and can remain in a home or building long after the work has been completed. Lead then enters the body by breathing or swallowing lead dust or ingesting larger chips. When outdoor work is done on lead-based painted surfaces, soil is easily contaminated with both chips and dust. Children can be directly exposed by playing in the dirt. Homes are further exposed when people bring soil into the home on their shoes. (Besides herbicide, pesticide and fecal contamination from walking outside, this is yet another excellent reason to ban shoes from being worn indoors!)

In spring of 1988 I bought my very first home while pregnant with my daughter. I love the style and beauty (not to mention affordability) of some older homes here and purchased a house that was built in the late 20’s. In the incredible volume of paperwork necessary to complete the closing agreement, was a waiver about the possibility of lead paint being present. It was ‘really just something that comes with buying an older home,’ I was told, and since I was due to deliver a baby any day, I failed to give this full consideration. Besides, inspection papers reported that the paint was all in good order and the water pipes were all copper or galvanized. With the healthy-looking yard, I also presumed the area to be safe and lead-free. Like most of us, I didn't give the lead issue much thought.

Several months after my baby came and I was getting settled into my new home, I, like many new homeowners, started to improve, renovate, and paint. Many months later when I read an article on home improvements and older homes, it dawned on me that I might have accidentally turned my little sanctuary into a health hazard! I realized that when I sanded the old wood trim in my infant’s room before painting, I might have released lead dust into her room and throughout the house. I imagined her crawling about and touching walls or carpets, putting hands, fingers, toys into her mouth, and receiving doses of lead into her tiny and fragile body. And I felt panicky and helpless.

The first thing I did was to call around and find a local lab to test samples of the house dust. I collected samples from the tops of doorways and behind her changing table with a swath of sterile gauze. I also sent in a sample of trim, complete with its 5 layers of paint. I might have sent in the bag from my vacuum cleaner but my system uses water, not a bag. Anatek Labs, Inc., in Moscow, did the work and reported their findings within 7-10 days. To my horror, the results showed not only lead in the painted wood sample but also very high levels of lead in the dust samples—6 times higher than the actual paint samples submitted!

The obvious next step was to test my child, now a 20-month-old toddler. Looking at her I saw a vibrant, active and happy toddler. But research indicates lead can be so insidious that looks can be deceiving. Even children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead in their bodies. Children’s blood lead levels tend to increase rapidly from 6 to 12 months of age and tend to peak at 18-24 months of age—because babies put their hands and objects in their mouths, and their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults. I called the health department to ask about sending in hair samples. To my dismay, I was informed that hair sampling is not recommended or reliable—only a blood sample would suffice, so I took her in for a blood test. (It is recommended that a child be tested every year if they live in a house or apartment that contains lead-based paint.) While I waited anxiously for the results, I made some inquiries to the County Health Department to find out more about the hazards of homes and their renovations. Several pamphlets and contacts are available through this department by calling 208-882-7506, or by contacting the Region 10 EPA office in Seattle at 206-553-1985. The Federal EPA can be reached at 1-800-424-LEAD, or on the Internet at www.epa.gov/lead.

We all try to make healthy choices for ourselves and our children, such as shopping at the Co-op. As consumers and parents, educating ourselves is an ongoing, full-time, essential job. Even hiring a professional to do your home improvements may not keep your home safe. A contractor may not have a lead-based paint license or certificate, or have received training in this area. In Idaho, contractors do not have to be licensed, so many are not educated about the dangers of lead-based paint contamination or and aren’t aware of the options to minimize the problem (like not sanding, or else wet-sanding, or taking lead abatement precautions to remove the leaded material altogether).

In my case, we were lucky. My daughter’s blood showed insignificant levels of lead, which I attribute to my prompt and thorough use of my water filter vacuum and my anal attitude about dust in general after a lifetime of difficulties with Constrictive Airway Disease. My experience was just a warning, and in thankfulness I am writing this to my community to spread the word. So, please educate yourselves about this issue and other lead issues such as drinking water and work- or hobby-related lead exposures.

Ask your contractor if they have background training in lead assessment and management. Talk about it with each other. Make calls or request information. If you are just renting or in a non-renovating situation, find out if your home has hidden dangers. And if you plan to remodel, proceed to turn your home into your castle with utmost care and caution.

Copyright: Copyright on articles and recipes are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective authors, except were otherwise noted.

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