In most cases, lead has been removed from residential paint and leaded water pipes have not been used in years, but new scientific evidence shows that people are susceptible to lead poisoning at much lower levels of what was thought to be harmful.
The dangers of lead, especially to children and pregnant women, have sparked a new round of concern and action that could soon rival efforts to remove asbestos from buildings.
In the US, federal law requires real estate agents and sellers of any building built before 1978 to declare their awareness of the dangers of lead, provide a lead warning pamphlet to prospective buyers, and give them the opportunity to perform a lead test before the contract can be finalized. .
In Canada, lead was used in most paints until about the time of World War II. Some paints contained up to 50 percent lead by weight until 1976, when the federal government restricted lead to 0.5 percent.
Called the “silent disease” because it affects humans slowly and without symptoms, lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, interfere with growth, cause hearing loss or visual impairment, damage the nervous system, disrupt fetal development, cause miscarriages spontaneous or cause brain damage, seizures, and death.
Up to 90 percent of American homes built before the 1950s contain lead-based paint. This peeling paint is a threat to children inside the house and while playing on the ground near the house. Adults and children together are at risk from dust that results from normal wear and tear around door legs and window frames.
Everyone must be very careful to avoid the dust created when surfaces are scraped or sanded for repainting, which is a job for specially trained lead abatement contractors. You can’t remove the dust with a regular vacuum without making the situation worse.
Paint isn’t the only threat. Plumbing in an older home may contain lead pipes, which were used a lot and lasted a long time. Lead leaches into the water while it remains in the pipes. (Interestingly, the word plumbing comes from the Latin word plumbum, which means lead.)
Lead pipes were commonly used for toilet and sink drains because lead is so soft that the pipes could be bent by hand. Lead solder was used to join older lead pipes with modern copper pipes. And molten lead was used to seal joints in the large cast-iron pipes that carry waste to sewers.
Even people who live in a modern home without lead plumbing cannot assume that their drinking water is lead-free, because in many cities there is lead in the water long before it reaches the home. Residents of cities with high levels of lead in the water supply should purchase water treatment devices that filter lead before it reaches the tap.
Most home inspectors point out lead pipes whenever they find them, and most will send water samples to the local health department if requested. Municipalities typically charge around $50 for testing. Home inspectors can test for lead paint for about $50 or test all vinyl shutters in the house for a similar price.
Now that we know how dangerous lead can be in and around older homes, we need to make sure we act accordingly and protect ourselves and our families from this unseen danger.
Committed to your peace of mind,
