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Lead is often called the silent killer. Lead is a mineral found in all parts of the environment. There are many ways in which we are exposed to lead: through air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil, deteriorating paint and dust.
Before it was known how harmful it could be it, lead was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes and many other products. The main sources of lead in our home environment today are old lead-based paint and lead water pipes.
What are the health risks?
Lead affects practically all bodily systems. At low levels, it can adversely affect the brain, central nervous system, blood cells and kidneys. Higher levels can cause convulsions, coma and even death.
Children run the greatest risk of developing lead poisoning because their growing bodies easily absorb lead and their tissues are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. Lead poisoning affects a child's developing brain. Lead poisoning at even low levels cuts a child's IQ and causes learning and behavior problems. Acute lead poisoning, which does have symptoms, can be fatal.
Young children are most often the victims of lead paint poisoning, since they put almost anything into their mouths and chew on wood trim, window sills and other lead-painted surfaces.
Getting tested for lead
Many homes built before 1960 contain heavily leaded paint. Some homes built as recently as 1978 may also contain lead paint. If your home was built in 1978 or before and you have a child who may be exposed to lead dust, you can get your child tested. The amount of lead in the blood can be measured to find out if you or your child has been exposed to lead.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's established threshold for safe lead levels in children is 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. To find out where to get your child tested, call your doctor or local health department or clinic.
For more information on health effects, call the National Lead Information Center Hotline 1-800-424-LEAD (1-800-424-5323). The hotline provides a basic information packet on lead, in English and Spanish, that includes the EPA brochure "Lead Poisoning and Your Children," three fact sheets and a list of state and local contacts of additional information.
The Lead Clearinghouse, another resource, has trained specialists who can answer specific questions on lead-related issues in English and Spanish and can also provide testing and laboratory information. To contact the Lead Clearinghouse, call 1-800-424-LEAD (1-800-424-5323). You can also get information on-line from the CDC at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/
How can I reduce lead exposure?
- Keep areas where children play as dust-free and clean as possible. Washing with dishwasher detergents is recommended because of their high content of phosphate. Most multi-purpose cleaners do not remove lead in ordinary dust.
- Leave lead-based paint undisturbed if it is in good condition. Do not sand or burn off paint that may contain lead.
- Do not remove lead paint yourself. People have been poisoned by scraping or sanding lead paint because these activities generate large amounts of lead dust. Consult your state health or housing department for suggestions on which private laboratories or public agencies may be able to help test your home for lead in paint. Home test kits cannot detect small amounts of lead under some conditions. Hire a person with special training for correcting lead paint problems to remove lead-based paint. Occupants, especially children and pregnant women, should leave the building until all work is finished and cleanup is done.
- Do not bring lead dust into the home. If you work in construction, demolition, painting, with batteries, in a radiator repair shop or lead factory or your hobby involves working with lead, you may unknowingly bring lead into your home on your hands or clothes. You may also track in lead from soil around your home. Soil close to homes may be contaminated from lead paint on the outside of the building. Use doormats to wipe your feet before entering your home. If you work with lead, change your clothes before you go home and wash these clothes separately.
- Find out about lead in drinking water. Most well and city water does not usually contain lead. Water usually picks up lead inside the home from household plumbing that is made with lead materials. To find out if there is lead in your drinking water, have it tested. Contact your local health department or water supplier to find out how to get your water tested. Send for the EPA pamphlet "Lead and Your Drinking Water" for more information on what you can do if you have lead in your drinking water. To receive the pamphlet or for more information, call EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).
- Eat right. Some data suggest that a child who gets enough iron and calcium absorbs less lead. Foods rich in iron include eggs, red meats and beans. Dairy products are high in calcium. It has also been noted that adequate amounts of vitamin C may aid in the excretion of lead by the kidneys. Lastly, do not store food or liquid in lead crystal glassware or imported or old pottery.
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External Source
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American Academy of Pediatrics
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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