WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Office of Epidemiology
Childhood Lead Poisoning Fact Sheet for the 1999 Childhood Health Survey
Q. What is lead?
A. Lead is a natural metal found in the environment.
Q. What are the effects of lead poisoning?
A. Lead is toxic and has no known function in the human body. Young children and
fetuses are most susceptible to the toxic effects of lead. Long-term exposure to
even low levels of lead can cause irreversible learning difficulties, mental
retardation, and delayed neurological and physical development. Lead poisoning
is a particularly insidious public health threat because there may be no unique
signs or symptoms. Early symptoms of poisoning may include loss of appetite,
fatigue, irritability, anemia, and abdominal pain. Because of the general nature
of symptoms at this stage, lead poisoning is often not suspected.
Q. How do you prevent lead exposure in children?
A. A child is at greatest risk if he or she lives in an older home built prior
to 1950. Homes built before 1950 often contain lead-based paint. Lead may
contaminate dust and be ingested when dirty hands or other non-food items come
in contact with the mouth. If parents believe a child has been exposed, they
should talk to the child’s pediatrician or their health care provider.
Guidelines for protection include:
- Frequently wash hands, pacifier, toys and other items that may go in the
mouth.
- Feed children nutritious low-fat meals high in calcium and iron.
- Each morning, flush water from tap for two minutes before drinking.
- Use cold tap water to prepare baby formula.
- Do not allow children or pets to play in dirt within three feet of the
house’s foundation.
- Wipe dust from horizontal surfaces (counters, tables or floors) with a wet
cloth or mop.
- Use a doormat to wipe feet or remove shoes to keep dust out of the house.
- Remove imported vinyl miniblinds from areas frequented by small children.
- Follow the guidelines listed below to prevent bringing lead home from
work.
Q. How do you prevent lead exposure in adults?
A. Precautions should be taken for work involving battery manufacturing and
recycling; radiator manufacturing and repair; painting, resurfacing, and
demolition of bridges, towers and other steel structures; shipbuilding; iron
processing; scrap metal; firing ranges; fishing weight production; leaded glass
manufacturing; lead ore production and smelting.
Q. How do you keep from bringing lead home from work?
A. Use separate work clothes and shoes while at work; keep street clothes in a
clean place; shower at work before going home and launder work clothes at work.
If you take clothes home, wash and dry them separately.
Q. How is lead used?
A. Historically, lead was used as a pigment in house paint, an additive to
gasoline and as a pesticide. Currently, it is used in lead-acid batteries,
fishing weights, marine paint, lead shot, bullets, and in the manufacture of some plastics. In 1990 the lead-acid
battery industry accounted for about 80 percent of the domestic lead production.
Ammunition, brass and bronze, extruded products, sheet lead, ballast,
containers, ceramics, and gasoline additives represented the remaining 20
percent.
Q. Where is lead found?
A. Paint. Lead-based paint is the most common source of lead poisoning
for children in the nation. Lead was widely used in most interior and exterior
oil-based paint prior to 1950. Children are exposed to lead when they eat paint
chips or chew painted surfaces. Lead-based paint is most dangerous when it is
peeling, chipping or on surfaces that rub together such as door and window
frames. Improper renovation of homes with lead- based paint can generate lead in
the air, dust and soil in and around the home.
Soil and dust. Lead-based paint can be a major source of
lead-contaminated soil around the home as a result of peeling and chipping paint
and remodeling activities, such as sanding and scraping of paint. Industries
such as lead-acid battery recycling facilities, municipal solid waste
incinerators, lead ore mining, lead ore milling, and smelting can be sources of
lead-contaminated soils. Lead-contaminated soil is a potential source of
exposure, directly through a child’s hand-to-mouth activity, and indirectly as
a contributor to indoor floor dust when tracked into the home.
Air. Sources of airborne lead include emissions from gasoline
combustion, smelters, and battery manufacturers, among others. Due to the
federal Clean Air Act, there is less lead in motor fuels and tighter emission
controls on industrial activities.
Water. Industrial facilities, urban runoff and atmospheric
deposition are sources of lead in the aquatic environment. Lead solder can
contaminate drinking water. For more information, call the local health
department or EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline 1-800-426-4791.
Q. Are there other sources of lead in the home?
A. Hobbies can be a lead exposure source: making stained glass windows;
using lead solder; glazing and firing pottery and ceramics; making lead weights;
reloading and making ammunition; target practice on indoor and outdoor firing
ranges; refinishing furniture; and remolding. In addition, home remedies can be
a source of lead exposure: Azarcon and greta are bright-colored
powders containing almost 100 percent lead. The Hispanic community often uses
these remedies for children with intestinal illness or empacho. Pay-loo-ah
is a red or orange powder used in the Hmong community to cure rash or fever in
children. Ghasard, Bala
Goli, and Kandu are Asian Indian remedies used for stomach aches. Kohl
or surma are used by Arab communities for cosmetic and medicinal
purposes.
Q. Where is blood lead testing done?
A. Parents who want their children tested should contact a pediatrician or
health care provider.
Q. Where can I get more information?
A. Childhood lead prevalence survey, call Eric Ossiander, (800) 909-9898.
Environmental lead hazards, call Lew Kittle, (360) 236-3381.
Lead in the workplace, call Sharon Drozdowsky, Dept. of Labor & Industries,
(360) 902-6573
For general information, call the National Lead Information Center
1-800-424-LEAD.
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