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Lead in Paint, Dust, and Soil
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National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week

Graphic depicting children closing a doorThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is observing National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week from October 24-30, 2004, to promote awareness of the dangers of lead exposure. This year's theme, "Shut The Door on Lead Poisoning," highlights the importance of educating parents and children about the dangers of lead-paint hazards in housing. About lead in español, Russian (PDF, 665KB, 17pp), Vietnamese (PDF, 946KB, 16pp), and Arabic (PDF, 611KB, 17pp).

Children six years old and under are most at risk from lead poisoning because their bodies and nervous systems are still developing. Lead poisoning in children, even at low levels, can cause developmental problems, learning disabilities, impaired hearing and behavioral problems. The primary sources of lead exposure for children are deteriorating lead-based paint, lead contaminated dust and lead in residential soil. Minority and low-income children are disproportionately affected by lead poisoning since they are more likely to live in pre-1978 housing containing lead-based paint.

Lead exposure among young children has been drastically reduced over the last two decades because of the phase-out of lead from gasoline, beverage cans, new house paint, federal, state and local regulations on lead in paint, 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 over 80 percent since the mid-70s. In 1978, there were about 14.8 million children in the United States with elevated blood-lead levels. Currently, approximately 434,000 U.S. children age 1-5 years have blood-lead levels greater than the Centers for Disease Control recommended level of 10 µg/dL.

The EPA Lead Awareness Program has developed many products to reduce residential lead hazards:

  • Education and outreach brochures to 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. Several brochures have been translated into other languages, such as Spanish.

    • Fight Lead Poisoning with a Healthy Diet [en español (PDF, 230KB, 10pp)]
    • Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home [en español (PDF, 649KB, 16pp)], [Vietnamese (PDF, 946KB, 16pp)], [Russian (PDF, 665KB, 17pp)], [Arabic (PDF, 611KB, 17pp)]
    • Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home [en español (PDF, 412KB, 26pp)]
    • Lead Poisoning and Your Children [en español (PDF, 167KB, 2pp)]
Los folletos educativos y de alcance público brindan información a los padres y a los niños sobre la importancia de realizar la prueba del plomo en la sangre de sus niños, así como la necesidad de examinar los hogares y trabajar de manera segura y sana cuando el plomo esté presente en el ambiente de su hogar. Varias publicaciones han sido traducidas al español. Estas son:

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 Poisoning Prevention Week is also part of the October celebration of Children's Health Month. Read the fact sheet about Children's Health Month (PDF, 490KB, 8pp)

Lead is commonly used 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 8 percent lead. This can leach significant amounts of lead into the water for the first several months after their installation. Read more about lead contamination in water.

Many state and communities plan to make official proclamations, offer free lead screening, and to conduct various education and awareness events. Click here to learn about National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week activities across the United States.

Other government agencies are involved in efforts to reduce harmful exposure to lead in the environment.

For more information about Lead Poisoning Prevention Week or lead poisoning in general, contact the National Lead Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD or see EPA's Web site at http://www.epa.gov/lead.

 

[PDF]PLEASE NOTE: Some of the documents mentioned in this Section are in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). To view or print them you will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader program installed on your computer. The Reader can be downloaded and used with no charge; check here for more information on the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

 

 

 

 

 
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