Environmental Diseases: How to Prevent Lead Poisoning
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Prevalence of Lead Poisoning The most common source of lead poisoning is lead paint, which was used in nearly all homes built before 1978. The EPA further estimates that close to 75% of occupied residential housing built before 1980 used lead. In most cases, older lead paint has been painted over with latex or oil paint with no lead in it, but remains in the house. In many cases, there are surfaces in the home where lead paint remains uncovered and unrecognized, inside cabinets or closets, for instance.
erodes and wears away, sometimes chipping and peeling. The big chips and peels are only the most obvious sign of deterioration. Tiny flakes and paint dust get stirred up in the air where children can breathe them in. The dust - almost imperceptible settles on the floor and other surfaces where it gets on children’s hands and clothing, and from there, onto their toys and into their mouths.
2. Wipe down painted surfaces regularly with a damp cloth to pick up any lead dust and avoid disturbing it.
Lead in the Water Children may also ingest lead in the water if a house has older plumbing with lead fittings, or from toys imported from countries with lower lead
4. If a nearby house is being demolished, keep windows closed and wipe down surfaces regularly. There’s a good possibility that dust from the demolition contains lead. 5. Avoid buying painted toys, crayons and clay that were imported from another country. If your child is diagnosed with lead poisoning and you have reason to believe that your landlord or management company were negligent, contact an attorney to discuss your options for bringing suit to get compensation for your child’s medical difficulties and needs.
The environmental protection agency estimates that one in six children in the U.S. has lead levels elevated enough to cause some degree of physical impairment or damage. The damage due to lead poisoning includes shortened attention span, impaired hearing, liver and kidney damage, poor perceptual integration, neurological damage and poor classroom behavior.
Learn more about Lead Toxicity Symptoms from a leading expert in Forensic Toxicology by visiting http://www.environmentaldiseases.com/articlelead-toxicity.html. The site is on Environmental Diseases. Editor’s Note: You can also absorb lead from sandblasting paint. Over the years, I’ve seen patients with high lead levels from doing exactly this. Their paper mask did not protect them. A hair analysis helps detect high lead levels. For more info on this, contact me at DrDonna@fastermac.net. H&F
It’s not just eating paint chips. There’s a common perception – or mis-perception – of the typical child who gets lead poisoning. He’s from a poor family, with parents who don’t watch carefully enough to notice that their child is picking up chips of paint off the floor and eating them. Or who is allowed to gnaw on a windowsill by parents too busy to move the child away. People may assume that the house must be dirty; it could never happen in a home where the floors are kept clean and there is no dust. It’s comforting to believe that. It means that lead poisoning won’t happen to our children if we just keep the house clean enough, and a close enough eye on the children. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. It’s not just eating paint chips that can cause lead poisoning. In fact, chances are that few of the children diagnosed with lead poisoning ever picked up a piece of peeling paint and deliberately ate it. Paint
3. Report any peeling, flaking or worn paint in your apartment to your landlord as soon as you notice it. It is the responsibility of the landlord to keep the property in good repair.
paint standards than America. Tips To Prevent Lead Poisoning in Children 1. Let water run for 60 seconds when using tap water for food or formula preparation to flush out any water that may be contaminated with lead from standing in the pipes.
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safety
By Scott J. Alexander ost people have a basic understanding of lead poisoning. They know that it is caused by ingesting lead. They know enough not to let their children chew on paint chips, just in case. Some may know that older neighborhoods and older homes may have lead seals on the water pipes, and that could cause lead poisoning. The facts about lead poisoning can, and should be, frightening.