In our last blog, we told you that the EPA has instituted new requirements for contractors and homeowners working on a remodel project where lead is known (or presumed) to be present in an older home.  Much stricter standards will have to be met, and a much cleaner job site will be required.  The fairly obvious question is: Why?

The simple answer is that lead is deadly stuff.

Ingestion of lead, either by consuming it or breathing it, causes permanent effects in people of all ages, but is most damaging to children and unborn babies (think small bodies under development.)  The damage is primarily to the brain and central nervous system.  In kids, this can show up as reading & learning difficulties, hyperactivity, kidney damage, behavioral problems and decreased intelligence.  Symptoms in adults include digestive and nerve disorders, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, high blood pressure and fertility problems.  Low doses can cause these problems; extreme doses can kill.

The medical field has been aware, for decades, of lead exposure problems.  It’s why lead has already been removed from pipes and solder, paint, gasoline and cigarettes.  It’s also why the Consumer Products Safety Commission looks so closely at imported toys and trinkets. Unlike other metals which occur naturally and have some use in the body (like iron and zinc), lead is exclusively poisonous and hazardous at any level. 

Most of us have had some exposure to lead over the course of our lives.  Frankly, the highest risk has been to remodeling contractors repeatedly exposed to dust during the demolition phase of an older home remodel.  In homes built before the 1978 final ban on lead-in-paint, any painted surface has the possibility of containing lead.  Homes built before the 1940s are almost certain to contain lead-based paint.  The reason is that lead was an excellent way to make paint flow and cover better, it added durability and color retention, and it acted as a natural fungicide.  It seemed like a really good idea at the time.

Fortunately, in most older homes, lead paint has been covered, during repainting projects, by paint that’s not lead-based.  This keeps the old paint from flaking or giving off dust and protects occupants from exposure.  It’s a very simple way to minimize the problem.  But scraping or sanding these surfaces will re-expose the lead paint.  Using a heat gun is worse still, because the lead becomes atomized and stays in the air longer.  The best way to minimize your exposure is to have this kind of work done by trained professionals (the preceding was an official “plug” for Fresh Start Builders).

Look for another blog entry soon.  The next subject is, “What Does the EPA Require, and Who’s Affected?”