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Important Facts You Need to Know About Lead Poisoning

• Lead poisoning is a silent epidemic, especially in old urban centers where most homes were built prior to 1978.
• Lead paint poisoning is the number one environmental health risk for young children.
• Lead paint represents a continuous hazard in all older homes where there is peeling and flaking paint which creates poisonous paint flakes, and poisonous dust..
• Most children are poisoned by lead paint dust that gets on their hands, and then into their mouths, not by eating paint flakes.
• Some landlords ignore dangerous paint conditions even when they know young children are present.
• Children ages six and younger are especially at risk for lead poisoning.
• Lead paint chips taste sweet to children and children like to suck on them.
• Even one chip of heavily leaded paint can cause lead poisoning if swallowed.
• Lead poisoning dramatically affects children's behavior and results in lower IQs.

Toddlers and young children play on the floor and near windows or doors where the friction of the constant opening and closing causes old lead paint to be disturbed and deteriorate into lead dust that lands in carpeting and on floors. Children's toys pick up lead dust and the dust also gets on their hands. Consequently, when a children put their contaminated hands or toys in their mouths, lead dust is ingested. 

Exposure to lead can affect a child's development, behavior and intelligence, resulting in the need for early interventions, speech therapy, behavior therapy, and frequently the need for special education services after the child enters school. Lead is a neurotoxin and even at relatively low exposure levels, the effect of lead on a child's developing brain is believed to be irreversible. Significant lead exposure can damage other body systems and cause physical problems in adulthood such as with kidney function and high blood pressure. Extreme lead exposure in childhood can be fatal, though fortunately such extreme exposures are rare.