What to do about lead contaminants in the home:
This document describes the immediate steps that can be taken to protect people from lead poisoning in the home. This article series provides advice for reducing the risk of lead poisoning for families living in homes where lead exposure is suspected, likely, or where lead contamination is actually confirmed by testing.
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The original U.S. CPSC document is public domain. We have made additions to the technical depth of this article and we have added additional important detail about lead hazards - these are indicated by a [bracketed note in italics]. The additional text or commentary, website design, links, and references are
If you suspect that your house has lead hazards, you can take some immediate steps to reduce your family's risk:
Removing lead improperly can increase the hazard to your family by spreading even more lead dust around the house.
Always use a professional who is trained to remove lead hazards safely.
In addition to day-to-day cleaning and good nutrition:
Always hire a person with special training for correcting lead problems--someone who knows how to do this work safely and has the proper equipment to clean up thoroughly. If possible, hire a certified lead abatement contractor. Certified contractors will employ qualified workers and follow strict safety rules as set by their state or by the federal government.
Call your state agency (see below) for help with locating qualified contractors in your area and to see if financial assistance is available.
Readers of this article should see our review of a Home Test Kit for Lead in on building surfaces located
at LEAD TEST KIT for HOME USE. The same company offers a lead-in-water test, as do local health departments and private water testing labs in most cities. Also
see LEAD CONTAMINATION in DRINKING WATER: Testing & Correction - Advice
...
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In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.
"The voluntary standard established in the United States under ASTM F-963 and the European standard under EN-71 for soluble lead in toys (lead which may migrate from the toy and be ingested by the child) is 90 parts-per-million. At that level, any intentional use of lead in paints or other surface coatings containing lead would immediately put the toy over the permitted limit."
"Under federal law, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) enforces a standard for total lead of 600 ppm. Recently, the CPSC refused to lower the lead limit in paint and other similar surface coating materials to 100 ppm after finding that most paints sold in the United States were already at or below that level and, therefore, these materials did not present an unreasonable risk of injury warranting further government regulation."