![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090508063052im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week
October 19-25, 2008
Other Information
Read about Lead Poisoning Prevention Week activities around the nation.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued two lead safety podcasts. Click to download the recent CDC interviews: Is Your Child Safe from Lead Poisoning? and Renovate Right: Prevent Lead Poisoning in Children.
Lead Poisoning Prevention Week poster (PDF) (1 pp, 383K)
- Renovation, Repair, and Painting
- Learn How You Can Prevent Lead Poisoning
- Testing for Lead
- Lead in Drinking Water
- Other Resources
EPA observes National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week to focus on the importance of educating parents and children about the dangers of lead exposure, especially lead-paint hazards in housing.
This year's theme -- "Let's Wipe Out Lead Poisoning-Renovate Right!" -- highlights EPA's new rule to protect families from the dangers of lead dust resulting from renovations and everyday painting and repairs. The rule requires the use of lead-safe paint removal practices to ensure that activities such as sanding, cutting, and demolition do not disburse harmful lead dust into a family's air, food and clothing. Learn how the renovation, repair and painting rule can help to protect your family.
The new rule is the latest major step forward in the battle against this preventable disease. Earlier actions over the past three decades have drastically reduced lead exposure among young children. Those federal, state and local regulations include:
- The phase-out of lead from gasoline and house paint; and
- Reductions of lead in industrial emissions, drinking water, consumer goods, hazardous sites and other sources.
As a result of these past and on-going efforts, children's blood-lead levels have declined dramatically since the mid-1970s. In 1978, there were about 13.5 million children in the United States with elevated blood-lead levels. Currently, approximately 310,000 children ages 1-5 years in the United States have blood-lead levels greater than the Centers for Disease Control recommended level of 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood.
The federal government's goal is to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in the United States as a major public health problem by the year 2010.
For more information, please see Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning: A Federal Strategy Targeting Lead Paint Hazards (PDF) (91 pp, 1.5 MB).
Renovation, Repair and Painting
Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children.
To protect against this risk, on March 31, 2008, EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning in April 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination. Until that time, EPA recommends that anyone performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools follow lead-safe work practices.
- All contractors should follow these three simple procedures:
- Contain the work area.
- Minimize dust.
- Clean up thoroughly.
Read more information about EPA's renovation, repair and painting rule and about lead-safe practices in the pamphlet Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools (PDF) (20 pp, 3.3MB). En español (PDF) (20 pp, 3.2MB)
Read about lead-safe work practices for contractors in the EPA pamphlet Contractors: Lead Safety During Renovation (PDF) color, in English (2 pp, 826K) | color, en español (PDF) (2 pp, 334K) | HTML version | Other formats
Read about how to comply with EPA's rule in the EPA Small Entity Compliance Guide to Renovate Right (PDF) (34 pp, 2.5MB).
Learn How You Can Prevent Lead Poisoning
Become familiar with the EPA Lead Awareness Program and the following resources:
Education and outreach brochures provide information to parents and children on the importance of testing children for lead, testing homes and working safely when lead is present in the home environment.
Information and brochures en español:
- El medio ambiente y su salud: Plomo
- Combata el envenenamiento con plomo con una dieta saludable (PDF) (10 pp, 230K)
- Proteja a su familia en contra del plomo en su casa (PDF) (16 pp, 649K)
- Reduccion de los riesgos de contaminación por plomo cuando remodelar su casa (PDF) (26 pp, 412K)
- Cartel "El envenenamiento por el plomo y sus niños" (PDF) (para leer el cartel imprimirolo) (2 pp, 167K)
- Déle A Su Niño La Oportunidad De Su Vida, Mantenga A Su Niño Libre Del Plomo (PDF) (6 pp, 436K)
- Brochures in additional languages:
- Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home
- Vietnamese (PDF) (16 pp, 946K)
- Russian (PDF) (17 pp, 665K)
- Arabic (PDF) (17 pp, 611K)
You should also become familiar with Rules and Regulations, such as the Disclosure Rule. This rule requires persons selling or leasing housing constructed before 1978 to disclose known lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards during all real-estate transactions.
Testing for Lead
To protect children, parents should ask their health care providers about testing children for high levels of lead in the blood.
Homeowners may contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) for information on how to find professionals to test houses for lead.
Tenants can also consult with their landlords regarding testing pre-1978 residences when there are signs of deteriorating lead-based paint.
Lead in Drinking Water
Lead may be found in household plumbing materials and water service lines. Lead is rarely found in source water but enters tap water through corrosion of plumbing materials. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, joints, and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally "lead-free" plumbing may contain up to eight percent lead. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures which can leach significant amounts of lead into the water, especially hot water. Read more about lead in drinking water.
EPA is concerned about the potential for elevated lead levels in the drinking water of schools and child care centers. Exposure to lead is a significant health concern, especially for young children and infants whose growing bodies tend to absorb more lead than the average adult. Drinking water is one possible source of lead exposure. Testing water in schools and child care facilities is important because children spend a significant portion of their days in these facilities, and they are likely to consume water while there. Read more about lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities.
Other Resources
Other federal agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, plan to conduct various education and awareness events for Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Learn more about other National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week activities across the United States.
For more information about Lead Poisoning Prevention Week or lead poisoning in general, contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) or see EPA's Lead Website.