Lead

Exposure to lead in the home occurs via two routes: the ingestion and/or inhalation of lead dust from paint and the consumption of water contaminated with lead.

Lead Paint

Lead paint is present on an estimated 30 to 40 million houses in the United States. Most homes built before 1970 contain heavily leaded paint. Some homes built as recently as 1978 may also contain lead paint. This paint could be on window frames, walls, the outside of homes, or other surfaces. Lead comes from paint chips, plaster chips, and windowsills and other woodwork in old houses painted with lead-based paint. Old lead-based paint is the most significant source of lead exposure in the U.S. today. Harmful exposures to lead can be created when lead-based paint is improperly removed from surfaces by dry scraping, sanding, or open-flame burning.

Water

Lead-contaminated drinking water is most often a problem in homes that are either very old or very new. Up through the early 1900s, it was common practice to use lead pipes for interior plumbing. Also lead piping was often used for the service connections that join residences to public water supplies. Copper pipes have replaced lead pipes in most residential plumbing. However, the use of lead solder with copper pipes is widespread. Experts regard this lead solder as the major cause of lead contamination of household water in U.S. homes today. Lead concentrations in drinking water can be also be elevated if your home has faucets or fittings of brass which contains some lead. The most common cause of lead getting into drinking water is corrosion, a reaction between the water and the lead pipes or lead solder. Lead can leach into the water from the joints or from lead pipes. Dissolved oxygen, low pH (acidity), and low mineral content in water are common causes of corrosion. One factor that increases corrosion is the practice of grounding electrical equipment, such as telephones, to water pipes. Any electric current traveling throught the ground wire will accelerate the corrosion of lead in the pipes. Most well and city water does not usually contain lead. Water can pick up lead inside the home from household plumbing that is made with lead materials. The only way to know if there is lead in drinking water is to have it tested. Contact the local health department or the water supplier to find out how to get the water tested.

New brass faucets and fittings can also leach lead, even though they are "lead-free". Scientific data indicate that the newer the home, the greater the risk of lead contamination. Lead concentrations decrease as a building ages. This is because, as time passes, mineral deposits form a coating on the inside of the pipes (if the water is not corrosive). This coating insulates the water from the solder. But, during the first five years, before the coating forms, water is in direct contact with the lead. More likely than not, water in buildings less than five years old has high concentrations of lead contamination.

The EPA has set an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead in drinking water. If tests show that the lead concentration is your water is higher than 15 ppb, action should be taken to reduce the concentration. Well water can be treated to make it less corrosive through filtration. If you have municipal water service, contact you supplier if you believe you water is contaminated with lead. Water mains containing lead pipes can be replaced, as well as those portions of lead service connections that are under the jurisdiction of the supplier.

Because of similar chemical properties, the body confuses lead with calcium when ingested and incorporates it into the bone marrow, nerve tissue, brain, and kidneys. The body never decomposes the lead into another, more easily tolerated substance, because lead is an element.

In children, symptoms of lead poisoning can include headaches, irritability, abdominal pain, vomiting, anemia, weight loss, poor attention span, noticeable learning difficulty, slowed speech development, and hyperactivity. In adults, symptoms of lead poisoning can include pain, numbness or tingling of the extremities, muscular weakness, headache, abdominal pain, memory loss, unsteady gait, pale skin, weight loss, vomitting, irritability,and anemia. Although adults are susceptible to the toxic effects of lead, children are at high risk due to the nature of a child's activities that involve the introduction of non-food items into their bodies. Lead poisoning is one of the most common preventable public health problems related to children today.

At low concentration lead can adversely affect the brain, the central nervous system, blood cells, and kidneys. Blood lead concentrations as low as 10 ug/dl can impair mental and physical development. Lead at high concentrations (80 ug/dl or above) can cause convulsions, coma, and death. The effects of lead exposure on unborn and young children can be severe. The effects of lead poisoning in children include reading and learning disabilities, delays in physical and mental development, shortened attention span, speech and language handicaps, lowered IQ, neurological deficits, behavior problems, mental retardation, kidney disease, heart disease, stroke, and death. Children are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults since lead is more easily absorbed into growing bodies, and the tissues of small children are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. Children may have higher exposures since they are more likely to get lead dust on their hands and then put their fingers or other lead-contaminated objects into their mouths.

The best treatment of lead poisoning is prevention. Chelating agents, which act by binding metal, can be used to remove lead from the body. The metal chelate is much more water-soluble than the metal ion itself so its urinary excretion is greatly facilitated. Chelation treatments can remove lead from the body but it cannot reverse damage. Chelation treatments are also painful and time-consuming. If you believe you have been lead poisoned, consult your physician immediately.

There are ways to reduce your exposure to lead:

Water

Have you home inspected for lead piping. If you suspect your water contains lead have it tested by a qualified laboratory. Lead piping should be removed. Flush your pipes before drinking. Anytime the water in a particular faucet has not been used for six hours or longer, flush your chold-water pipes by running water until it becomes as cold as it will get. The more time water has been sitting in your home's pipes, the more lead it may contain.

Paint

Leave lead-based paint undisturbed if it is in good condition. Do not sand or burn off paint that may contain lead. Individuals have been poisoned by scraping or sanding lead paint because these activities generate large amounts of lead dust. Do not burn painted wood since it may contain lead. Do not remove lead pain yourself. Hire a qualified lead-abatement contractor to remove contamination. Keep areas were lead dust occurs (i.e. windowsills) clean and dust-free.

For more information on lead poisoning, contact the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) at 1-800-424-LEAD, Monday-Friday 8:30am-6pm EST or visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website www.epa.gov and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website www.cdc.gov.