Environmental

Lead Poisoning

Lead is a highly toxic metal that was widely used in common household products, such as gasoline, paint, plumbing and pottery for many years. However, lead poses serious health risks, especially to young children, and the U.S. government has been working since the late 1970s to significantly reduce our lead exposure. They removed lead from gasoline, banned the use of lead in residential paint, and reduced the presence of lead in drinking water and industrial air pollution.

Lead paint is still one of the most significant sources of lead poisoning. People who live in houses built before 1960, houses remodeled before 1978, or public housing built before 1978 – especially those residences with chipping, peeling or powdering paint – are at increased risk.

Who is at risk?
Children 6 years old and younger are at particular risk for lead poisoning, even if exposed to relatively small amounts of lead. Their developing brains and predilection for frequent hand-to-mouth activity combine to make them an especially vulnerable population. Developing fetuses are also at risk if the mother is exposed to lead.

Adults who experience significant exposure to lead are also at increased risk for lead poisoning. Lead poisoning in adults is generally an occupational hazard of those exposed to large amounts of lead in heavy industrial workplaces.

How does lead exposure occur?
People can accumulate dangerous levels of lead in their body by:

• Breathing in lead dust
• Putting lead dust coated hands or objects into their mouths
• Eating paint chips or soil that contain lead
• Drinking water contaminated by lead-containing household plumbing materials and water service lines
  

What are the health effects of lead?
Lead poisoning in children has been linked to the following:

• Brain damage and nervous system damage
• Learning disabilities
• Behavioral disorders
• Slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Seizures, coma and death (at high levels)
  

Lead poisoning in adults has been linked to:

• Pregnancy difficulties
• Reproductive problems in men and women
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems
• Nerve disorders
• Memory and concentration problems
• Muscle and joint pain
  

How can I minimize my family’s risk?
Even though childhood lead poisoning has been on a steep decline since the government’s ban on many common sources of lead, it still remains a major environmental health problem in the U.S. Getting your home, soil and water tested and assessed for their lead risks and then using qualified professionals to safely address those risks is the best way to deal with this problem.

You should also have your children tested at a young age if you feel they have been exposed to dangerous levels of lead. They may appear perfectly healthy, but blood level testing is the only way to tell if your child has lead in his or her blood. There is no safe level. Any inorganic lead in the bloodstream can harm the body’s organs, a fetus or a child’s developing brain. Contact our lawyers today for an immediate and confidential evaluation of your case.


All facts: the Environmental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov)

This law firm is not affiliated with, sponsored by or associated with the EPA.