UNITS / TERMS:
Lead (Pb) is a soft, heavy, toxic, and malleable metal which has a dull gray appearance. Lead is used in building construction, lead-acid accumulators, bullets and shot, and is part of solder, pewter, and fusible alloys.
Lead-based paint is defined by the federal government as paint with lead levels greater than or equal to 1.0 milligram per square centimeter, or more than 0.5% by weight.
Milligram a unit of mass equal to one thousandth of a gram. Microgram a unit of mass equal to one millionth of a gram.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home
BACKGROUND FACTS:
Lead may cause a range of health effects including behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, and even death.
Lead can be found in paint, dust, and soil. Houses built before 1978 may contain paint with high levels of lead. People can get lead in their bodies by breathing in lead dust, putting their hands or other objects covered with lead dust into their mouths, or by eating paint chips or soil that contain lead.
Lead-based paint is usually not a hazard if it is in good condition, and if it is not on an impact or friction surface. Deteriorating (peeling, chipping, chalking, cracking or damaged) lead-based paint is a hazard and needs attention. Remember, the presence of lead and it's condition should be determined and evaluated by a qualified and properly insured lead specialist, not a real estate professional.
Lead is more dangerous to children under the age of six because: a) children's brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead, b) growing bodies absorb more lead, and c) children are more likely to ingest lead dust. Lead is also dangerous to pregnant women and women of childbearing age.
In children, lead can cause nervous system and kidney damage, learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, decreased intelligence, poor muscle coordination, decreased muscle and bone growth, and hearing damage. In adults, lead can cause increased chance of illness during pregnancy, harm to fetuses including brain damage or death, fertility problems, high blood pressure, digestive problems, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems, and muscle and joint pain.
Federal law requires that potential buyers, renters or renovators of homes built before January 1, 1978 receive a warning and a disclosure regarding potential or known lead hazards. These disclosures are important.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Finding a Qualified Lead Professional for Your Home
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Testing Your Home for Lead
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home
TESTING:
Knowing that a home contains lead-based paint is not necessarily an indication of a lead hazard in the home.
A qualified contractor can perform a risk assessment to identify lead hazards in a home and determine how to address any existing hazards. The risk assessment tells whether or not a home or building has lead hazards, identifies where they exist, and recommends appropriate action.
A trained and certified testing professional typically uses a range of reliable methods including visual inspection, portable x-ray fluorescence machines, and laboratory tests to detect lead in paint, dust, and soil.
State and federal programs exist to ensure that lead testing is performed safely, reliably, and effectively.
MITIGATION:
A certified lead abatement contractor should be hired to remove, seal, or enclose lead-based paint.
Upon lead removal by a certified professional, the professional should test until lead dust levels are below 40 micrograms per square foot for floors, below 250 micrograms per square foot for interior windows and sills, and below 400 micrograms per square foot for window troughs.
