Lead-based paint children

In 1998 a Californian (MMWR, 2001) mother requested a blood lead level determination for her 18-month-old child. The result was a blood lead level (BLL) of 26 LLg/dl, which was well above the Center for Disease Control s (CDC) recommended criterion for clinical case management. It was subsequently found that the father had a BLL of 46 ( lg/dl, which was above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirement that workers with BLLs greater than 40 lg/dl receive additional medical examinations. Further testing found that his 4-month-old daughter had a BLL of 24 Rg/dl. This worker was employed in a company that refinished antique furniture, some of which was covered with lead-based paint. Subsequent testing of co-workers found that two refinishers had BLLs of 29 and 54 Rg/dl and four carpenters had BLLs of 46, 46, 47, and 56 ( lg/dl. A child in another family had a BLL of 16 ( lg/dl. What will be the long-term effects on the intellectual abilities of these children ... 

Lead-based paint activities are defined as inspection, risk assessment or abatement in target housing or child-occupied facilities. Inspection is defined in turn as a surface-by-surface investigation to determine the presence of lead-based paint and the provision of a report explaining the results of the investigation risk assessment is defined as an on-site investigation... 

The lead-based paint activities rule only appfies in states and to Indian Tribes that do not have authorized state or tribal programs, except that the Federal Government must comply even if there is an authorized state or tribal program. These rules do not apply to people who do work on residences they ovm, unless people outside their own immediate families live there during the work, or unless a child living in the building has elevated blood lead levels, in which case the rules do apply. 

The term accessible surface means an interior or exterior surface painted with lead-based paint that is accessible for a young child to mouth or chew. 

The major cause of lead poisoning is lead-based paint. A child does not, however, have to eat paint chips to become lead poisoned. Any time lead-based paint is disrupted there is a potential for lead poisoning—whether the paint is rubbed against, sanded or scraped, chewed on, or simply falling off. 

It s not the parent s fault. It was not you, the parent, who manufactured lead-based paint. It was probably not you who applied it to the home you lived in 20 or more years ago. And if you did, it was certainly without the knowledge that it might poison your child. You cannot take personal responsibility for the failure of our public policy to protect families from this poison. 

Some advocates insist that every child has the right to live in a home that is LEAD-FREE. As long as there is lead-based paint on the walls of homes, there is a potential danger to public health. Even if the paint is intact today, it will eventually deteriorate or be disrupted in such a way as to become accessible, and harmful, to children. Lead is a toxin and should not be found in housing, period. 

These three variables are much more influential when used for young children aged 1—5 years. As noted in Pirkle et al. (1998), Table 1, children in housing built before 1946, i.e., the housing most likely to have lead-based paint and to be in questionable states of repair, had a mean PbB almost twice that for child residents in units built after 1973, 3.8 versus... 

EPA establishes dangerous levels of lead in paint, dust, and soil. These hazard standards define lead-based paint hazards in target housing and child-occupied facilities as paint-lead, dust-lead, and soil-lead hazards. A paint-lead hazard is defined as any damaged or deteriorated lead-based paint, any chewable lead-based painted surface with evidence of teeth marks, or any lead-based paint on a friction surface if lead dust levels underneath the friction surface exceed the dust-lead hazard standards. 

EPA has developed a new lead hazard information pamphlet that addresses renovation-specific lead exposure concerns. The development of this pamphlet, including the public comments received on the format and content, is discussed in greater detail in a separate notice published elsewhere in the Federal Register. This renovation-specific pamphlet, entitled Renovate Right Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers and Schools, better informs families about the risks of exposure to lead-based paint hazards created during renovations and promotes the use of work practices and other health and safety measures during renovation activities. 

The 1974—1975 Silver Valley study data are summarized in Table 23.1. Data are presented as they were gathered in 1974, before emission control systems were restored. Geometric mean PbB values varied with distance of child residences from the smelter emission points but varied only moderately with age of the children. Unlike other Pb exposure scenarios, those based on smelter emissions indicated that excessive exposures persisted into later years. The Silver Valley findings are consistent with findings elsewhere (Neri et al., 1978). Urban children exposed to lead paint more typically show peak PbB values at 2—3 years of age followed by a marked decline. In Area I, with homes within 1 mile of the facility, PbB varied from 75 p.g/dl... 

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