What is lead poisoning and who is at risk of becoming lead poisoned?
How do children and adults become lead poisoned?
How can you find out if someone is lead poisoned?
What kind of homes are more likely to have lead paint?
Can regular home repairs cause lead poisoning?

What is lead poisoning and who is at risk of becoming lead poisoned?
Lead poisoning is a disease. It is most dangerous for children under six years old. It can cause permanent harm to young children's brain, kidneys, nervous system and red blood cells. Even at low levels, lead in children's bodies can slow growth and cause learning and behavior problems. Young children are more easily and more seriously poisoned than others, but older children and adults can become lead poisoned too. Lead in the body of a pregnant woman can hurt her baby before birth and cause problems with the pregnancy. Adults who become lead poisoned can have problems having children, and can have high blood pressure, stomach problems, nerve problems, memory problems and muscle and joint pain.

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How do children and adults become lead poisoned?
Lead is often found in paint on the inside and outside of homes built before 1978. The lead paint in these homes causes almost all lead poisoning in young children. The main way children get lead poisoning is from swallowing lead paint dust and chips. Lead is so harmful that even a small amount can poison a child. Lead paint under layers of nonleaded paint can still poison children, especially when it it disturbed, such as through normal wear and tear and home repair work.

Lead paint dust and chips in the home most often come from peeling or chipping lead painted surfaces; load paint on moving parts of windows or on window parts that are rubbed by moving parts; lead paint on surfaces that get bumped or walked on, such as floors, porches, stairs, and woodwork; and lead paint surfaces that stick out which a child may be able to mouth such as window sills.

Most lead poisoning is caused by children's normal behavior of putting their hands or other things in their mouths. If their hands or these objects have touched lead dust, this may add lead to their bodies. A child can also get lead from other sources, such as soil and water, but these rarely cause lead poisoning by themselves. Lead can be found in soil near old, lead-painted homes. If children play in bare, leaded soil, or eat vegetables or fruits grown in such soil, or if leaded soil is tracked into the home from outside and gets on children's hands or toys, lead may enter their bodies. Most adult lead poisoning is caused by adults breathing in or swallowing lead dust at work, or, if they live in older homes with lead paint, through home repairs.

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How can you find out if someone is lead poisoned?
Most people who are lead poisoned do not have any special symptoms. The only way to find out if a child or adult is lead poisoned is to have his or her blood tested. Children in Massachusetts must be tested at least once a year from the time they are between nine months and one year old until they are four years old. Your doctor, other health care provider or Board of Health can do this. A lead poisoned child will need medical care. A home with lead paint must be deleaded for a lead poisoned child to get well.

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What kind of homes are more likely to have lead paint?
In 1978, the United States government banned lead from house paint. Lead paint can be found in all types of homes built before 1978: single-family and multifamily; homes in cities, suburbs or the countryside; private housing or state or federal public housing. The older the home, the more likely it is to have lead paint. The older the paint, the higher its lead content is likely to be.

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Can regular home repairs cause lead poisoning?
There is a danger of lead poisoning any time painted surfaces inside or outside the home are scraped for repainting, or woodwork is stripped or removed, or windows or walls are removed. This is because lead paint is found in almost all Massachusetts homes built before 1978, and so many of Massachusetts' homes are old. Special care must be taken whenever home repair work is done. No one should use power sanders, open flame torches, or heat guns to remove lead paint, since these methods create a lot of lead dust and fumes. Ask the owner of your home if a lead inspection has been done. The inspection report will tell you which surfaces have lead paint and need extra care in setting up for repair work, doing the repairs, and cleaning up afterwards. Temporarily move your family (especially children and pregnant women) out of the home while home repair work is being done and cleaned up. If this is not possible, tape up plastic sheets to completely seal off the area where the work is going on. No one should do repair work in older homes without learning about safe ways to do the work to reduce the danger of lead dust. Hundreds of cases of childhood and adult lead poisoning happen each year from home repair work.

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