Facts About Lead

- Lead exposure can harm young children and babies even before they are born.
- Even children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.
- You can get lead in your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.
- Over 1 million workers may be exposed to lead poison at their jobs every day.
- Lead poison is the number one environmental killer of U.S. children under the age of six.- A child’s body absorbs up to 50% of the lead ingested. Effects of lead poison on children include speech delay, hyperactivity, attention deficit disorder, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, stunted growth, neurological and renal damage, mental retardation, anemia, and hearing loss.

Sources of Lead

Paint
Lead was used in paint to add color, improve the ability of the paint to hide the surface it covers, and to make it last longer. It was used both inside and outside of a home. In 1978 the federal government banned lead paint for use in homes. In general, the older your home, the more likely it has lead-based paint. Painted toys and furniture made before 1978 may also contain lead-based paint. Children may eat paint chips or chew on the surfaces of cribs, highchairs, windows, woodwork, walls, doors, or railings. Lead-based paint becomes dangerous when it chips, turns into dust, or gets into the soil.

Soil
Before 1978 companies used to add lead to gasoline. Lead particles escaped from car exhaust systems and went into the air. This lead fell to the ground and mixed with soil near roads and is difficult to remove. Homes near busy streets may have high levels of lead in the soil. Today, lead still comes from metal smelting, battery manufacturing, and other factories that use lead. This too may contribute to the soil contamination of lead for homes near any of these sources. Flaking lead-based paint on the outside of buildings can also mix with the soil close to buildings. Lead-based paint mixing with soil is a big problem during home remodeling if workers are not careful. Once the soil has lead in it, wind can stir up lead dust, and blow it into homes and yards.

Drinking Water
Homes built before 1930 often have plumbing with lead in it. The lead in the plumbing can get into the water flowing through it. Older plumbing parts such as faucets, fittings, and pipes may contain lead. Older water well pumps made with brass or bronze parts may also contain lead. Copper pipes are now used in most homes, but lead solder may have been used to connect these pipes. In 1986 and 1988 laws were passed to prevent the use of lead in pipes, solder, and other plumbing parts. However, some new brass faucets and fixtures may still contain small amounts of lead. Lead is most likely to get into warm water that is soft or acidic. (Statement from MUD)

Dust
Lead dust is the most common way that people are exposed to lead. Inside the home, most lead dust comes from chipping and flaking paint or when paint is scraped, burned, sanded, or disturbed during home remodeling. Chipping and peeling paint is found mostly on surfaces that rub or bump up against another surface. These surfaces include doors and windows. Young children who crawl and often put their hands and other objects in their mouths usually get exposed to lead when they put something with lead dust on it into their mouths. Lead dust may not be visible to the naked eye.

Workplace and Hobbies
People exposed to lead at work may bring lead home on their clothes, shoes, hair, or skin. Some jobs that expose people to lead include home improvement, painting and refinishing, car or radiator repair, plumbing, construction, welding and cutting, electronics, municipal waste incineration, battery manufacturing, lead compound manufacturing, rubber products and plastics manufacturing, lead smelting and refining, working in brass or bronze foundries, demolition, and working with scrap metal. Some hobbies also use lead. These hobbies include making pottery, stained glass, fishing, and refinishing furniture. If you work with lead, you could bring it home on your hands or clothes, shower and change clothes before coming home. Launder your work clothes separately from the rest of your family's clothes.

Toys: Especially toys imported from overseas.

Imported Items
Food Cans
In 1995 the United States banned the use of lead solder on cans. But lead solder can still be found on cans made in other countries. These cans usually have wide seams, and the silver-gray solder along the seams contains the lead. Cans containing lead may be brought to the United States and sold. Over time the lead gets into the food. This happens faster after the can has been opened. Foods that are acidic cause lead to get into the food faster.

Folk Medicines and Cosmetics
Some folk medicines contain lead. Two examples are Greta and Azarcon. Azarcon is a bright orange powder also known as Maria Luisa, Rueda, Alarcon, and Coral. Greta is a yellow powder. They are used to treat an upset stomach. Pay-loo-ah also contains lead. It is a red powder used to treat a rash or a fever. Other folk medicines that contain lead include Bala (or Bala Goli), Golf, Ghasard, and Kandu. Some cosmetics such as Kohl (Alkohl) and Surma also contain lead. They often are imported from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, India, the Dominican Republic, or Mexico.

Candies or Foods
Candy especially from Mexico, containing chili or tamarind. Lead can be found in candy, wrappers, pottery containers, and in certain ethnic foods, such as chapulines (dried grasshoppers). More information and advisories on lead in candy can be obtained from the FDA at www.fda.gov or 1-888-463-6332.
 

Additional Items
Car body filler in custom cars
Firearms
Fishing sinkers
Candle wicks
Leaded glass
Organ pipes are a mixture of lead and tin Imported crayons
Lead is used as electrodes in the process of electrolysis
Lead is used in solder for electronics
High voltage power cables as a sheathing material
Lead is use in roofing materials
Some hair dyes
Make up products
Billiard chalk
Vinyl lunch boxes