| Lead Investigation and Remediation |
Lead Poisoning
What is lead poisoning?
Lead is a neurotoxic metallic element that can be absorbed by the body, primarily through the lungs and stomach. Lead poisoning occurs only when too much lead accumulates in the body. Generally, lead poisoning occurs slowly, resulting from the gradual accumulation of lead in bone and tissue after repeated exposure. However, it is important to note that young children absorb 50% of a lead ingestion while adults absorb only 10%.
Why is lead poisoning dangerous?
Left untreated, lead poisoning can damage many internal organs, including the kidney, nervous system and brain. Because of the possibility of permanent impairment, lead poisoning is particularly dangerous during the critical development periods of infants and young children under the age of 7 years.
Who is at risk for lead poisoning?
It is commonly believed that lead poisoning affects only the urban poor. While exposure risk is higher in deteriorating inner-city neighborhoods, this disease occurs in all social and economic groups. Middle-class children can become exposed to lead dust during renovations of older homes. In any case, children under the age of 3 are especially at risk because they crawl or play at ground level. They also put everything into their mouths and their small bodies absorb and accumulate toxic lead amounts more quickly than adults.
Some common myths about lead
"I've heard that eating a single paint chip causes lead poisoning."
False: Lead poisoning develops after repeated exposures to substances containing small amounts of lead, such as paint chips, dust, soil or eating from lead-glazed dishes. Since 1977, paints produced in the United States do not contain lead.
Doesn't eating pencil lead cause lead poisoning?
False: Pencil "lead" is now made of graphite, which contains no lead.
Sources of lead exposure in children
- Lead-based paint chips, interior and exterior paint
(before 1977)
- Old window glaze
- Soil, especially in dense urban areas
- Dust and debris from older building renovation
- Drinking water
- Playground soil
- Household dust
- Imported plastic mini blinds
- Water boiled in leaded pots and pans
- Foreign cosmetics: Kohl, Surina
- Foreign cold medicines: Azarcon 93.5%, (also Rueda, Coral, Alarcon, Liga, Maria Luisa); Pay-loo-ah 90% lead with arsenic; Yogran Guggulu
- Soil from smelter area
- Ceramics
- Old newsprint
- Leaded crystal
- Leaded gasoline fumes
- Leaded soldering fumes
- Leaded foil wine bottle caps
- Leaded residue from tainted soil or air in some fruits and vegetables
- Certain inks
- Heroin
- Bootleg whiskey
- Bone meal or dolomite supplements
- Auto battery storage casings
- Home smelting of lead shot and bullets
- Fishing tackle and decoy weights
Common symptoms of lead poisoning in adults
- Fatigue
- Depression
- Heart failure
- Abdominal pain
- Gout
- Kidney failure
- High blood pressure
- Wrist or foot weakness
- Reproductive problems
- Anemia
Common symptoms of lead poisoning in children
- Decreased appetite
- Stomach ache
- Sleeplessness
- Learning problems
- Constipation
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Tiredness
- Lowered I.Q.
- Anemia
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Who should be tested for possible lead poisoning?
- Children who are anemic
- Children with learning or behavioral problems
- Children who have been treated with foreign folk-medicines that contain high lead content
- Children who have a sibling, housemate or playmate being followed or treated for an elevated lead level.
- Children who live in or regularly visit a house with peeling or chipping paint built before 1960. This also includes day-care, pre-school or the babysitter's house.
- Children living with an adult whose job or hobby involves exposure to lead. Lead dust can be brought home on the adult's clothes and contaminate a child's environment.
- Children living near environmental sources of lead, such as battery manufacturing plants, lead smelters, battery recycling plants or other lead industries.
How do I get my children tested for lead?
Contact your physician to request a blood test specifically for lead levels. According to a statement released by the Center for Disease Control, data indicate some adverse effects have been documented in children with blood levels as low as 10 mcg/dl of whole blood. Call Carteret County Health Department at 252-728-8550 to see if your child is eligible for free testing.
Is treatment available for lead poisoning?
Yes, effective treatments to remove lead from the body are available through your physician. First, the blood is tested and, if the levels are too high, treatment can be started. A recent study demonstrated that a child's I.Q. could improve if blood lead levels are lowered by medical treatment.
What is the incidence of lead poisoning in Carteret County?
Fortunately, the incidence is low. Most of the buildings are relatively new, thanks to the new home building trends of the last 20-25 years. There are pockets of older and historic homes in the county that may have lead paint hazards, but for some reason there has been a lower rate of childhood lead poisoning in this county in comparison to other counties. But we can never have false confidence that lead poisoning does not exist. If you have concerns, speak to your physician.
What should I do if I suspect there is lead in my home?
Have your home checked by a qualified inspector. Several kits that test for the presence of lead in various sources are now available. There are certified contractors who will check your home for a fee. Carteret County Health Department does lead based paint investigations for free in the homes of children who are found to have elevated blood lead levels. For more information on identifying environmental lead hazards, please contact the Carteret County Environmental Health Department at 252-728-8499.
Can I remove lead paint from my home myself?
Lead paint removal should be done only by trained, certified professionals who are experienced in working with hazardous materials and special equipment.
How can we reduce our risk of lead exposure?
- If lead paint has been found in your house, eliminate contaminated dust by using a solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate) and water. Damp-mop floors and clean other surfaces with a cloth or sponge that will not be re-used on dishes, eating, drinking or cooking utensils.
- Block painted windowsills and moldings with heavy furniture to keep children away.
- Install vinyl siding over exterior lead painted surfaces.
- Plant grass for dust control.
- Reduce children's contact with soil if your house was built before 1978 or is near a major highway.
- Plant bushes near exterior walls to keep children away.
- Test your water for lead safety through recommendations from local water suppliers or government agencies.
- Run tap water for 60 seconds before using it whenever the water may have been standing awhile.
- Use cold water for drinking, cooking and making infant formula because it carries less lead. (Boiling the water concentrates the lead.)
- Check pottery, china and leaded glassware for lead content.
Is Lead Poisoning Your Child?
Could your child be suffering from lead poisoning? Children under six years old are at the greatest risk of being poisoned by lead, a heavy metal used in making hundreds of common products. Young children are most at risk of lead poisoning because they are growing and developing so rapidly and they tend to put their hands or other objects, which may have been in contact with lead dust, into their mouths. Lead poisoning can cause severe health effects in children, but it is entirely preventable.
More than half a million children under the age of six live in North Carolina, and fewer than half of them have had their blood tested for evidence of lead exposure. Between 1995 and 2002, over 27,500 children between the ages of six months and six years living in North Carolina were found to have high blood lead levels (10 or more micrograms per deciliter).
Lead can affect nearly every system in the body. It can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and at very high levels, seizures, coma or even death. Even exposures to small amounts of lead can cause adverse health effects. Some children who are poisoned by lead may have no apparent symptoms and can go undiagnosed and untreated for years, resulting in long-term problems. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all children between the ages of six months and six years get tested for lead poisoning, especially children between the ages of one and two. Treatment is available to help children who have high levels of lead in their blood.
Years ago, gasoline in America contained lead, and vehicle exhaust released lead into the environment. Lead was also widely used in house paint before 1978. In North Carolina, there are more than one and a half million homes built before 1978 that may contain lead paint, which can flake, peel, or release lead-contaminated dust. Lead is also commonly found in the soil along the drip line of homes due to the weathering of exterior paint. Children can get the lead-contaminated dust, paint chips or soil into their bodies through normal hand-to-mouth activity.
Other common sources of accessible lead include plastic mini-blinds, imported toys, crystal, fishing and hunting supplies, batteries, food stored in low-fired pottery or ceramic ware, and hobbies like the making of stained glass items. Children are also exposed to lead by taking traditional medicines such as azarcon, greta, pay-loo-ah and litargirio. Children adopted from other countries have a greater risk of having an elevated blood-lead level because of the availability of lead-containing gasoline and industrial emissions in some parts of the world.
To ensure that your children are safe from lead poisoning, keep your home lead-safe by routinely damp-mopping the floors and damp-wiping other surfaces, including toys, to remove lead dust. Always wash your child’s hands before snacks and meals. Ensure that your child’s diet contains the recommended levels of calcium and iron. Have your child tested by your physician or the local health department if you have not already done so. Only a few drops of blood from a child’s finger are needed to test for lead. All children enrolled in Medicaid are required to have a blood lead test at 12 months and again at 24 months of age. For information about having your child tested for lead, contact the Carteret County Health Department at 252-728-8550.
Before disturbing the paint in older homes, have the paint tested to determine if lead is present. To find out if your home contains lead, contact the North Carolina Health Hazards Control Unit at 919-733-0820 for a listing of North Carolina Lead Certified Inspectors or Risk Assessors.
For additional information about lead, see the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services lead poisoning web page at www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/lead.html or call the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) or Carteret County Environmental Health at 252-728-8499.
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Lead Investigations
When a child under the age of six (6) is identified with an elevated blood lead level, the state requires that an environmental lead investigation be done. The county Environmental Health Specialist and the Regional State Lead Specialist visit the residence of the child and any other places frequently visited by the child. The parent/guardian or other caregiver is interviewed to identify any risky behavior or exposure that may have contributed to the child’s elevated blood lead level.
During the investigation, an X-ray Fluorescence Analyzer (XRF) is used to determine the percentage of lead content of painted surfaces. Dust, water paint and soil samples may also be collected and sent to the State Lab for Public Health to be analyzed. Based on the results of the XRF and the samples taken, certain lead remediation procedures may be required of the property owners.
A report is written and given to the property owner and the parent. Follow up sampling must be done to make sure that identified lead hazards have been made inaccessible to children under the age of six who visit the premises in question.
If lead hazards are identified in childcare centers, the parents of all children under the age of six who attend the childcare center must be notified. It is recommended that those children be tested for elevated blood lead levels.
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Professional Responsibilities
If you perform routine maintenance on homes or apartments built before 1978, you need to plan and safely carry out the work following EPA guidelines for lead-safe work practices while minimizing the disturbance of lead-based paint. Protect yourself, your coworkers, your own family, and the lives of those living in the places where you are doing any kind of work, from the devastating effects of lead paint poisoning by becoming more informed and following lead-safe work practices.
As of June 1, 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the Pre-Renovation Education Rule (PRE) and requires that
Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home (English) or
Proteja a Su Familia en Contra del Plomo en Su Casa (Spanish) be distributed to residents of pre-1978 housing before beginning any renovation or remodeling activities. The PRE requires written acknowledgement from the client that he or she has received the pamphlet. Alternatively, the contractor can send the pamphlet by certified mail. Contractors should keep this documentation in their files.
Additional copies of Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home in Vietnamese, Russian, Arabic, and Somali can be downloaded at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadprot.htm.
"Lead-Based Paint Pre-Renovation Education Rule: A handbook for contractors, property managers, and maintenance personnel" explains the rules and regulations of the PRE in detail.
Residential Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Program Section 1018 of Title X
Recognizing that families have a right to know about lead-based paint and potential lead hazards in their homes, Congress directed EPA and HUD to work together to develop disclosure requirements for sales and leases of older housing. These requirements became effective in 1996. EPA has established hazard standards for paint, dust, and soil in most pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities. These requirements became effective in 2001. For more information on these requirements contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323).
Lead Information and Resources
Buying, Selling and Renovating Your Home with Old Lead Paint
Know The Law
A federal law that went into effect in 1996 has put into effect the following provisions:
- LANDLORDS and SELLERS have to disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect or sales are final. Leases and contracts must include a federal form about old lead paint. Landlords and sellers must also give buyers and renters the government brochure, Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home.
- BUYERS have up to 10 days to conduct a lead-based paint inspection or risk assessment at their own expense.
- RENOVATORS and REMODELERS have to give customers the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brochure before starting work. The brochure is titled, Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home.
Test for Lead
If you have young children, are pregnant, or plan to become pregnant, have a thorough lead risk assessment done by a professional contractor who does not also do abatement work to avoid a conflict of interest. Assessment will typically involve a range of methods, including: visual inspection of paint condition and location; lab tests of paint samples; and surface dust tests. If you're planning to remodel by tearing down any walls that could raise dangerous lead dust, consider x-ray fluorescence (XRF), which peers through layers of paint to detect lead.
If You Find Lead...
A recent EPA/Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Task Force report confirmed that old lead paint that is well-maintained does not present a hazard and is best left undisturbed. If the old lead paint is in poor condition — peeling, chipping, cracking or flaking — or if you plan to conduct any repairs or renovations, the lead can become a hazard, as it can create dust, which is the major pathway for exposure to lead. Lead dust can form when old lead paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated. Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together. Lead dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it.
Dealing with Old Lead Paint
Don't ever try to remove old lead paint by yourself. It is absolutely essential that a professional contractor trained in proper handling and removal of lead-based paint perform the job. Untrained, unskilled contractors or amateur do-it-yourself efforts can greatly increase risk by creating lead dust and releasing it into the air, and creating new lead contamination sites.
When Renovating:
During renovation involving construction or lead removal, your family (especially children and pregnant women) should be temporarily moved out of the home until the work is done and the area is properly cleaned. If you have already completed renovations that could have released lead-based paint or dust, get your young children tested.
Encapsulation:
One promising and increasingly popular permanent lead abatement technique is a new technology to encapsulate old lead paint in housing. Encapsulation is particularly encouraging as a more practical and cost-effective alternative to full removal of the paint.
Removal:
Removal of lead-based paint remains a very expensive option and should take place only when the old lead paint has significantly deteriorated, or if earlier renovations have left lead-contaminated dust in the home.
For More Information
For a copy of Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home, Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home, the sample disclosure forms, or the rule, call the National Lead Information Center (NLIC) at (800) 424 LEAD, or TDD (800) 526 5456 for the hearing impaired.
Downloads
Below, you may download the One Page Lead Fact Sheet in Word or PDF format:
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