Lead paint was banned in Europe in 1930. Here in the United States it was not banned until 1978. Why is that, you might wonder, when all evidence pointed to the toxicity of lead in paint.
The U.S. lead industry's response to the growing evidence of the harmful effects of leaded paint was to launch a massive, multi-decade advertising campaign in popular magazines -- much of it in the form of pictures and rhymes targeted directly at children -- that emphasized the beauty, safety, and durability of lead paint for interior use in nurseries, schools, and hospitals.
There is a misconception that only very old houses have issues with lead paint, when in fact lead was not banned as an additive in paint until 1978. Another misconception is that children ingested lead paint chips that flaked off of windows, walls, and trim. In fact, most lead poisoning occurs from lead dust and normal hand to mouth contact of children.
All of us who own older homes are familiar with cleaning the window sills well with a wet cloth or TSP solution. We have that drilled into our collective heads. Many renovators of old houses have gone and replaced all the windows rather that have to deal with lead abatement at all.
Turns out there is another more common source of lead dust now-- home renovations. Most children now are in fact poisoned during renovations when lead dust flies through the air, through knocking down old painted plaster walls, pulling off old trim, sanding old painted floors. Ah, my own personal hell. I joke with my children that I am going through all of the effort to protect their precious brain cells and IQ they better be thankful. But really it is a serious matter.
It used to be thought that lead poisoning was primarily an issue for children living in housing projects where upkeep by an absent landlord was an issue. Now it is becoming increasingly common for children of middle and upper-middle class homes to become exposed to high levels of lead dust through extensive renovations of older homes in the urban core.
Those conditions -- deteriorated leaded paint and elevated levels of lead-contaminated house dust -- are found in 4.4 million U.S. homes with young children. As a result, there are almost half a million lead-poisoned children in the U.S. In the Northeast's urban core, where a high percentage of housing was built when the concentration of lead in paint was at its peak (before 1950), the problem is especially dramatic.
As I was reading around the blogosphere I came across this post in which the writer talks about their neighbor suddenly moving away from a huge old house that they had recently purchased. Another neighbor said that the child was eating lead paint chips. While I have no way of knowing if that is actually the truth, I suspect that the family was involved in renovations in an area that is being gentrified and not taking the right precautions.
So what can you do? Aside from making sure your keep your home as dust free as possible and using hepa filters on vacuums. There is not much dialog online among older house owners about lead abatement. It is a touchy subject. If you write about how you handled lead removal in your older home will you be held liable if someone else follows your advice? And so most of us gloss over it.
Even writing about this subject is a highly emotional, risky thing. Parents don't even talk about lead paint or lead paint testing with each other because it is seen as such a sensitive subject. (Let the anonymous comments begin!) But I have felt pretty strongly about writing something about our experiences with lead paint specifically because there is so very little personal information out there about lead paint. And it's a scary topic for parents which can create loads of anxiety. So I'm writing about it even if it opens me up to criticism about our choices.
Jeanne provides a link to a government hand-out on the subject of working with lead paint, which is helpful. If you are considering any extensive home renovations and have a house built before 1978, it would be in your best interest to read it.
Having lead paint is not as much of an issue as having lead paint DUST. Or lead paint CHIPS. Intact lead paint in good condition that isn't flaking or chipping wasn't our concern. Doing home improvement work that might cause lead paint dust or having unstable, old lead painted surfaces was.
She has written about how to minimize the risk and seal your house off properly to contain the lead dust. And she even has photos for those of us who are reading-of-the-directions challenged.
Like Jeanne I can tell you steps we have taken to minimize exposure in our home. All windows, window jambs, window sashes, window trim, door trim, floor trim, doors, painted hinges and hardware have been taken off site and stripped. Things that were easily replaced were replaced. (We have an advantage in our house that it was a country home and therefore lacking in elaborate trim work.) Things that can not be sent off site are stripped, NOT sanded. We seal off rooms with plastic and duct tape. And I am really digging those shoe covers and am definitely buying the Zipwall for our kitchen knock down that will happening as soon as I stop hyperventilating about the potential mess.
So homeowners who are just starting out in this process, excited and perhaps starry-eyed, don't be afraid of the lead paint. Educate yourself and take appropriate precautionary measures.
When she isn't blogging at www.notesfromthetrenches.com, Chris is busy rescuing her old house from a century of neglect and bad taste.
