Unfortunately, lead dust flies through the air with the greatest of ease, poisoning everyone and everything in its wake. For years, the emphasis on lead poisoning has focused on paint chips, but it’s lead dust that is far more harmful, especially for the most vulnerable among us — children, pregnant women, and pets.
Enter the Bust Lead Dust campaign, the brainchild of Gene Burch of RTK Environmental Group, a Licensed Lead Inspector, Lead Risk Assessor, Lead Abatement Planner, and U.S. EPA-accredited instructor in the Renovation, Repair and Painting rule. “After speaking to hundreds of homeowners and business people, I realized the majority are unaware of the dangers lead dust poses in most buildings constructed before 1978,” he says. “I felt it was important to raise public awareness about this threat.”
His first step was to create the “Bust Lead Dust” campaign, presently housed on the new Web site — www.BustLeadDust.com — to reach as many people as possible. He envisioned the site to be the go-to place for information about lead dust. “It’s chock-full of facts about lead dust poisoning, suggestions for keeping yourself, your family, and your community safe, and ways to help spread the word about how insidious lead dust can be,” Burch says. There’s even a quiz to test your lead dust IQ, and a place to determine if there is lead dust in your home. And there are activities on the site for kids, who can enter suggested names for Bust Lead Dust’s Lead-Sniffing Pup, tackle a word search and word jumble, and enjoy a coloring page.
According to Burch, the average person dismisses the risk of lead dust poisoning because he/she lives in a house that was built after 1978, the year lead paint was banned. “But if the next door neighbors renovate their pre-1978 built home — even if they do a small painting job — chances are they are disturbing lead-based paint,” he says. When the paint is sanded, lead dust flies through the air. The dust particles will probably land on soil, outdoor furniture, or children’s sandboxes or swing sets. Easily tracked indoors, lead dust then can coat floors, blankets, toys, and hands, and eventually can wind up in a child’s mouth, since lead paint is sweet – tasting like candy.
Why worry now?
On April 22, 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency enacted the Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule, mandating that tradespeople who, in the course of their day, disturb lead paint be trained and certified in lead-safe work procedures. But it’s up to homeowner to be certain that the people they hire are certified in the EPA’s RRP rule. Non-compliance can mean hefty fines of $32,000 plus jail time for uncertified contractors who disturb lead paint.
Although RRP does not extend to homeowners working in their own homes, the EPA encourages do-it-your-selfers (DIYers) to use lead safe work practices. Unknowingly, DIYers can poison themselves, their children, their pets, and their neighbors.
How dangerous is it?
According to the Centers for Disease Control, a speck of lead dust, as small as a grain of sand, is enough to poison a child. Lead dust has an irreparable impact on:
· Children: Brain damage, loss of IQ, learning disabilities, hearing loss, slowed growth, headaches, increased tendency to violence, nervous system and kidney damage, attention deficit disorder, poor muscle coordination, decreased muscle and bone growth, speech and language problems.
· Pregnant women: May affect their unborn child’s cognitive development, increase delinquent and antisocial behavior when the child is older, and reduce neonatal weight. Lead dust also can increase the mother’s blood pressure.
· Everyone else: Reproductive problems, high blood pressure and hypertension, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems, and muscle and joint pain.
· Dogs: Convulsions or fits, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and bizarre behavior.
· Cats: Vomiting and diarrhea.
· Birds: Often fatal.
What everyone can do
1. Log on to www.BustLeadDust.com to find out everything you need to know about lead dust poisoning.
2. If you live in a pre-1978 built home, or spend time in one, everyone — children and adults — should be tested for lead poisoning. It’s a simple blood test. Do not let your doctor talk you out of it.
3. From a total house renovation to a small painting job, you owe it to your family, yourself, your neighbors and your pets to have your pre-1978 built home tested for lead. The EPA recommends homeowners hire a state-licensed testing company — one that does not work for the contractor — to test dust samples from floors and window sills.
4. Before any renovation that disturbs lead paint, be certain your tradespeople are EPA-certified in the Renovation Repair & Painting rule. Have them show you the certificate they received after they completed the course.
5. If tradespeople tell you they are not EPA-certified in RRP and that there is nothing to worry about, do not hire them. Also, remind them that if caught, they face stiff fines of $32,000 per violation and possible jail time.
6. DIYers: Read the RRP rule for lead safe work practices at http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm to keep yourself, your loved ones, and your neighbors safe from the harmful effects of lead dust poisoning.
7. Retest your home for lead dust after the work is done to be sure there is no lead dust residue. Unfortunately, since lead dust is often invisible, even a thorough cleaning of the work area and air vents cannot guarantee that all lead dust has been eliminated.
8. If you see neighbors tackling DIY projects that disturb lead paint, ask if they are aware of the RRP rule and if they are taking proper precautions. If they are not and don’t stop working, you can report them to the local EPA office.
For more information, contact Bust Lead Dust campaign at 1-800-392-6468, or visit http://www.Bust LeadDust.com.
About the Bust Lead Dust Campaign
Bust Lead Dust, http://www.BustLeadDust.com, is an educational initiative designed to spread the word about the dangers of lead dust poisoning. It is sponsored by RTK Environmental Group with offices in Stamford and Newington, CT; New York City; and Boston, MA, one of the most trusted environmental testing service firms in the Northeast. Company professionals are certified, licensed, and fully insured, and on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The public is invited to visit its Web site, www.rtkenvironmental.com.
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