Lead Dust from Paint, Threat to Millions of Children at Home in the US, EPA about to Issue Strict Limits
Last edited Sat Oct 19, 2024, 10:24 PM - Edit history (1)
- 'Millions of kids still face this toxic health threat at home - and may not even know,' Washington Post, Oct. 19, 2024. Ed. 🧸
- The Environmental Protection Agency is about to issue strict limits on lead dust, which poses a threat to millions of children across the U.S.
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PHOTO: Jade Shirey carries her son, Benny, 4, at their school in Jamestown, N.Y., on Sept. 18. After getting lead poisoning from paint on the stairs and doorframes of their home, Ben was diagnosed with autism and became nonverbal.
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JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — The home Jade Shirey bought over a decade ago was a bargain and exactly what she needed for her growing family. But she knew it needed a some touch-ups, and after a few years, she turned her attention to the chipping, dark-red-painted wood under the carpet. She started sanding the painted floors, before staining the wood. She had been remodeling the stairs for 2 months when she took her son, Benny, to his 1-year-old checkup.
A finger prick showed he tested positive for lead levels 4 times higher than the national standard at the time.
The lead paint hidden beneath the floorboards had turned into clouds of dust, poisoning him.
Nearly a half century after the federal government banned lead-based paints in homes across the country, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to finalize tighter lead dust standards within days in an effort to eliminate toxic paint in homes built before 1978, according to agency officials. But even in some of the communities whose children face the highest risk for lead exposure, officials worry whether they can accomplish that goal.
The EPA estimates that more than a third of all housing units in the country- 31 million- still contain lead-based paint that was applied before the ban, and 3.8 million of them have one or more children under the age of 6 living there. The proposed rule EPA issued in July 2023 would declare any amount of lead dust detected on homes’ floors and windowsills hazardous. It also sets an aggressive new standard for what is considered clean after removing lead paint, slashing allowable levels to the lowest readings that can be reliably detected by testing labs.
Experts say it only takes a small amount of lead dust — the size of one sugar packet — to contaminate an entire football field. Opening a window or door lined with lead paint can create lead dust and chips as pieces of wood grind together...Read More, https://wapo.st/3YtaGvo
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PHOTOS: - Benny walks up the stairs that gave him lead poisoning at home. Some of his emotional stimulants that help keep him calm include his stuffed orca. Clothing can also overwhelm Benny, and he often refuses to wear any. - Jade shows a photo of the stairs in her home when she found lead paint.