Lead Paint Removal |
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The comments below are unedited opinions of the colleagues who submitted them. A date (month and year) indicates that the comments following that date are from the given month and year. The most recent comments appear at the bottom.
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9/98 I called the Mass. lead poisoning prevention program (phone # below), and they were very helpful and informative.
| Call the Mass State Department of Public Health Lead Poisoning and Prevention program at 6177538400 or 8005329571. Good luck, and I wouldn't worry too much if the paint isn't actively chipping. But it will probably take a while to get the landlord to fix it, so it's good to start now. (The state will help make sure this happens.) Also, make sure you wash your hands after cleaning places you know have lead paint and likely suspects, such as window sills. You don't want her sucking lead dust off your fingers. We have done LOTS of work on lead paint at Abt. Any renovation work can release lead paint into the air, which is a primary pathway. There is a lot of info on lead in most public libraries that is very informative. As a toxicologist who has worked on lead for many years, I wouldn't worry too much. My two children went through early childhood in our antique (very leady) house and I was just VERY careful that we didn't sand or disturb the paint anywhere. They never had measurable lead levels in their blood. It can be far more dangerous to remove the paint because the micronsized particles get into everything, than to just leave it undisturbed. Most kids do not chew on window sills. I moved into my condo when my son was 11/2 (definitely prime puttinganythingintohismouth age), 10 years ago. It had been (re)painted, i.e., good paint over the (probably) bad old (leadbased) paint. I never had it checked, or deleaded. We never had a problem (my son has never had any level of lead in his system, is certainly quite bright, scores high on tests, etc.). NOW. The next door neighbors read the reports and went to the trouble and (considerable) expense to have their house deleaded. The deleading and scraping/repainting process threw enormous amounts of paint dust and chips all over the place. All their children were exposed to far more lead than they otherwise might have been, and their middle daughter had significant lead poisoning, has learning difficulties, some behavioral problems, etc. The moral? You may not need to worry. If the paint is not exposed, the likelihood of paint chips and dust is minimal, and as usual, common sense and a watchful eye are worth a great deal. Just remember that the deleading process is not a benign one, and make sure to get blood tests whenever your kids have physicals. have some reports in my office somewhere on lead. As a parent, and a landlord, my thoughts would be: * lead removal efforts often eject lead into the indoor environment. I wouldn't live in a place during or soon after removal, at least not with small kids. House renovation can do the same thing. It's not the paint chips alone, it's lead in the very dust that dwells in older homes, and in the soil outside them. And this dustborn lead can be liberated by the very effort to remove it. * the only way to know if your child has an internal lead problem (as opposed to the presence of lead in the environment) is with the very cheap and minimally invasive test that is currently required in Mass. for all kids, annually through age five. I'd suggest the veinous test, not the finger stick it actually hurts less and is a more accurate test. I too was worried because the little kit showed lead in our apartment and our rental unit downstairs. I had my kids tested at age 9 months, and annually, as well as immediately after we installed new windows in their bedrooms. But none of the 6 kids who've lived in our two apartments have had a score over 3.2 on the lead test (10 warrants investigation, anything higher warrants intervention, 3.2 is remarkably low for an urban setting like Belmont where we live). * when we started drinking bottled water, my kids' lead level dropped from 3 to less than 2. They were getting 1/3 of their (minimal) lead from the old water system in Belmont (and possibly from the house pipes). I guess I'd advise that you wait until about 9 months and have your child tested. Then test again annually (you're required to anyway) or more often if you're very worried. It only takes a minute and buys a lot of peace of mind. If you are a renter, you have rights you might want to check into. There are a lot of resources, as a matter of fact we at the ENVR have done the regulatory impact analysis for the EPA rule that bans the use of lead paint in residential areas. In my office there is a "Lead in Your Home: Parent's Reference Guide" that you are welcome to take a look at. It is quite useful. The state of Massachusetts has a very active lead abatement program and its regulations are more stringent than EPA's. Their address is Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Dept. of Public Health 470 Atlantic Av. 2nd flr. 617 753 8401 The EPA contact is Regional Lead Contact US EPA Region 1 JFK Federal Bldg. 1 Congress St. Boston MA 02203 Tel: 617 565 3836 As far as your newborn daughter is concerned I don't think there is reason to really worry. As she is probably not exposed to lead, considering she has not yet started crawling. However, the next time you visit your pediatrician, you might want to get her blood tested. This is just to be on the safer side because you can be exposed to lead through air. There are airborne lead particles/lead dust that is created by old chipping paint. Peter Glass, who used to work here as a computer programmer, is now a lead paint abatement contractor. He's a really good guy and would be glad to educate you on this if you tell him you're from Abt and I referred you. I don't have Peter's phone number handy, but he lives in Arlington. | |||||||||||||||