Description

Lead is a highly toxic, naturally occuring heavy metal that was once found in a wide variety of products, including paints, gasoline, PVC (vinyl) plastic, pipes, ceramic glazes, and caulk.  Lead continues to be used in the production of batteries, ammunition, metal products (solder and pipes),  devices to shield X-rays, and computer monitors to block radiation.

Though the U.S. government decreased the allowable levels of lead in paints and gasoline to negligible levels in the late 1970s, lead still poses a significant threat to growing children.  Even low levels of lead over time can harm children, sometimes permanently. The most significant sources of lead continue to be old paint in homes built before 1978, lead pipes placed before the 1930s, and soil by highways and heavily traveled roads.

Note:  Toxicity information below is based on data on elemental lead and its inorganic compounds.  The form of the lead found in paint and ceramic glazes is inorganic.

Health Effects

Immediate Health Effects

• If SWALLOWED, lead is Highly Toxic
• If ABSORBED THROUGH SKIN, lead is Not Available
• If INHALED (SNIFFED OR BREATHED IN), lead is Highly Toxic

Longterm or Delayed Health Effects

• This chemical is likely to cause cancer.  It is considered a Probable Carcinogen by the World Health Organization, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or another agency.
• Neurotoxin = Can harm brain and central nervous system
• Development Toxicant = Can interfere with normal development of a fetus or child
• Reproductive Toxicant = Can harm reproductive system

Other

• Learning disabilities; memory loss; decreased IQ and poor performance in school; difficulty understanding directions; reduced eye-hand coordination
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD); hyperactivity;  aggression; delinquency or anti-social behavior;  and other behavioral problems
• Hearing impairment; stunted growth; peripheral neuropathy, or the failure of the nerves that relay information between the brain and spinal cord, causing pain, loss of sensation, and inability to control muscles.
• Kidney dysfunction; gout; poor absorption or synthesis of nutrients; increased blood pressure; cardiovascular ailments such as coronary artery disease, peripheral vascular disease, atherosclerosis, and hypertension.
• Reproductive effects including decreased fertility, increased rates of miscarriage, pre-term delivery, low birth weight,  low sperm count, erectile dysfunction, abnormal sperm shape and size.
• Seizures; paralysis; anemia, abdominal pain, constipation, vomiting, decreased appetite
  
• Accumulated lead exposure has been linked to the development of cataracts in older men.

 

How Exposures Occur

Paint

• A child may swallow or chew on crumbling paint and paint chips.  She or he could also swallow or breathe paint dust that is created by friction when opening windows and doors.  Children can also be exposed by chewing on window sills, railings, edges of stairs and other child-accessible surfaces.  Remodeling activities, such as sanding, scraping paint and tearing down walls, in homes built before 1978, can disperse lead dust throughout the house.
  
  Pregnant women who are exposed to high levels of lead dust can pass on lead to the fetus.

Some Fertilizers

• Fertilizers made from recycled industrial byproducts and waste may contain heavy metals, including lead.

Work-related

• Parents can bring lead home on clothing or shoes from their workplaces, such as construction sites and firing ranges.  The babies of pregnant women in these and other occupations involving lead are at higher risk.

Soil

• Lead can be especially high in soil near highways and busy streets due to leaded gasoline emissions before 1995.  Soil around homes painted with lead-based paints and soil under bridges may be contaminated with lead paint residues.  Additionally, soil near current or former industrial sites may have high levels of lead from air emissions or dumping. 
  
  Children can ingest this soil accidently while playing.  Contaminated soil can also be tracked indoors and deposited on carpets and floors, where children may come into contact with it.

Drinking Water

• Lead is regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.  However, it can be contaminated en route to your faucet.  Old pipes and water mains made of lead or joined with lead solder can release lead into drinking water as it passes through.  Contamination can occur from municipal water mains that have not been replaced with safer pipes or from old pipes with in the home. Plumbing installed before 1930 is most likely to contain lead, although lead solder use continued beyond this date into the 1980s.  Between 10 and 20 percent of a child’s total lead exposure comes from drinking water.

Some Glazed Ceramic Dishes and Leaded Crystal

• Lead in dishes made with leaded glass or finished with lead glazes can leach into food or water stored in them.  Imported dishes, from Mexico, China and other developing countries, are more likely to be glazed with leaded materials.

“Litargirio” Powder Natural Remedy

• Litargirio, a yellow- or peach-colored powder manufactured by Roldan, Ferreira, and other laboratories in the Dominican Republic, contains up to 79 percent lead. The powder is used as a deodorant, foot fungicide, burn and wound treatment, and for other medicinal purposes. It is sold in 2-inch by 3-inch clear packets by stores catering to Spanish-speaking customers, particularly those from the Dominican Republic.

Calcium Deficiency During Pregnancy

• Lead is stored in our bones and teeth after an exposure because lead binds tightly to calcium.  Lead can be released into the blood stream if the body must take calcium from the bones to compensate for a deficiency.  A calcium-deficient pregnant women can inadvertantly expose her unborn baby to lead this way, as the lead in her blood can pass into the womb via the placenta.

Candlewicks with Metallic Cores

• Candles with metallic wicks or wick-cores (that stand up straight) may contain lead, which can be inhaled when the candle is burned.

Folk or Herbal Remedies or Medicines

• Herbal preparations and folk remedies, such as “greta” or “azarcon,” can contain lead.

Imported Vinyl Mini-blinds

• Vinyl deteriorates in sunlight, releasing lead used as a “binder” for the pigment in some mini-blinds.  The result is a lead-laden dust that children may swallow when mouthing the blinds. 
  
  Lead is not used in vinyl blinds made in the U.S. 

Inks Used on Printed Plastic Bags

• Lead used in the inks used on plastic bags can leach into foods wrapped in them. 

 

Significant Statistics

Nearly 1 million children under the age of six have blood lead levels higher than the lead safety threshold of 10 mcg/dL that has been established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Screening Young Children for Lead Poisoning:  Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1997. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/guide/guide97.htm

64 million homes in the United States contain lead paint.

Numerous studies show that every 10 mcg/dL increase of blood lead level results in a 2-7 point decrease in IQ.

Over 80 percent of all homes built before 1978 in the U.S. have lead-based paint in them. The older the house, the more likely it is to contain lead-based paint and a higher concentration of lead in the paint.

What Every Parent Should Know About Lead Poisoning in Children. U.S. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/cdc97a.htm

 

Solutions

How to detect lead

• Home Test Swabs: Swiped across the surface of painted surfaces, furniture or dishes, these kits will indicate lead content if the swiped area changes color.  This kind of test will not indicate the quantity of lead present and sometimes shows presence of lead when levels are minimal.  Available at hardware or home improvement stores, or can be obtained from HybridVet Systems (LeadCheck Swabs), 800-262-LEAD, or Frandon Enterprises (Frandon Lead Alert Kit), 800-359-9000.
  
  Sample Collection Kits:  These kits contain materials to collect paint, dust or water samples, which must be sent to an EPA-certified laboratory for analysis. They will tell you exactly how much lead is in the sample you provide, though at a higher cost. Available at home improvement stores and from HomeSafe.
  
• Professional Testing: A qualified professional can determine if your home contains lead paint using a variety of means, including lab tests of paint samples, surface dust test and testing done with a portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine.  Contact the National Lead Information Center for a list of EPA-recognized, accredited laboratories.
  
• Blood Tests. Your doctor can determine whether your child has been exposed to dangerous levels of lead through a simple blood test.  All infants between the age of 6 months and 1 year should be tested.

How to minimize exposure to lead

• Interim Steps: These steps should not be considered a solution but rather things you can do until a permanent solution can be found. 
  -To eliminate dust that may contain lead, frequently wipe toys, furnishings, window sills and other surfaces that children may touch with a damp cloth.  Thoroughly rinse all surfaces, sponges and mops after cleaning.
  -Vacuum carpets with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter.
  -Wash pacifiers and bottles if they fall on the floor.
  -Wash stuffed animals regularly.
  -Run water taps for 1 minute before drinking water.  Use cold water for cooking as hot water may leach lead in pipes. See also: Safe Pipes: Lead in Your Drinking Water?
  -Feed children a healthy diet that is rich in calcium and iron.  Spinach, broccoli, raisins, and dairy products are good sources.
  -Replace vinyl miniblinds of unknown origin.
  -Wash children’s hands frequently.
  -Plant grass or other plant covers on soil that may contain high lead levels. See also: Soil Contaminants: Striving for Safe Soil.
  -Paint over intact lead paint (except on window frames and doors).  Lead paint that is not crumbling poses no hazard.  Painting over window frames and doors may not solve the problem as friction may wear the safer paint away, resulting in lead dust. 
• Professional Abatement: To remove or control the lead hazard permanently, a professional “abatement” contractor can remove, seal or enclose lead-based paint with special materials and equipment.  Lead abatement should only be done by professionals. See Detecting and Removing Lead Paint for more information and resources.
• According to the National Sanitation Foundation International, carbon/charcoal, reverse osmosis and distillation filter systems will remove lead from drinking water. This includes most pitcher=type filters.  Check the filters package for the contaminants it removes.  (See also Safe Drinking Water: Filtration for more information on water filters.) 
  
  Consumer Reports rates water filters for lead removal. 
  

Alternatives

 

For More information

Books, articles, factsheets and reports

What You Should Know About Lead in China Dishes. Environmental Defense.

http://www.environmentaldefense.org/article.cfm?contentid=952

Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/leadpbed.htm

Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Presidential Task Force, February 2000.

ww.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/fedstrategy2000.pdf

Lead in Your Home: A Parent's Reference Guide. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/leadpbed.htm

Other government agencies

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control
451 7th Street, S.W., Room B-133
Washington, DC 20410
202-755-1785

http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/lead.htm

National Lead Information Center

8601 Georgia Ave, Suite 503
Silver Spring, MD 20910
800-424-LEAD

http://www.epa.gov/lead/nlic.htm

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, Lead Programs
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460
202-260-2090

http://www.epa.gov/lead

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission

800-638-2772

http://www.cpsc.gov

Nonprofit organizations

The National Lead Service Providers’ Listing System

888-532-3547

http://www.leadlisting.org

Alliance for Healthy Homes

(formerly the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning)
227 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., Suite 200
Washington, DC 20002
202-543-1147

http://www.afhh.org

Community Environmental Health Resource Center (CEHRC)

A resource site for advocates working to protect children from environmental health hazards in housing.

http://www.cehrc.org/tools/lead/index.cfm

Other websites

Other

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule. In most cases, buyers and tenants of housing built before 1978 must be warned of lead-based paint and its hazards by sellers, landlords and agents.  In addition to providing an EPA-approved pamphlet, the seller or landlord must notify the buyer or tenant of any knowledge of lead-based paint hazards and their location in the dwelling and any pertinent records or reports. 

Depending on the your locality, your landlord may be required to take certain actions to remove lead hazards from your home if your child has a high blood lead level.  Contact your state department of housing for more information.

“Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule”

http://www.hud.gov/offices/lead/disclosurerule/index.cfm

Children with calcium or iron deficiencies may be more susceptible to lead poisoning.  Sufficient calcium and iron intake decreases the absorption of lead.

 

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