SIMPLE STEPS TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM LEAD HAZARDS If you think your home has high levels of lead: Get your young children tested for lead, even if they seem healthy. Wash children's hands, bottles, pacifiers, and toys often. Make sure children eat healthy, low-fat foods. Get your home checked for lead hazards. Regularly clean floors, window sills, and other surfaces. Wipe soil off shoes before entering house. Talk to your landlord about fixing surfaces with peeling or chipping paint. Take precautions to avoid exposure to lead dust when remodeling or renovating (call 1-800-424-LEAD for guidelines). Don't use a belt-sander, propane torch, dry scraper, or dry sandpaper on painted surfaces that may contain lead. Don't try to remove lead-based paint yourself.

ARE YOU PLANNING TO BUY, RENT, OR RENOVATE A HOME BUILT BEFORE 1978?

Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains lead (called lead-based paint). Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly. By 1996, federal law will require that individuals receive certain information before renting, buying, or renovating pre-1978 housing:

LANDLORDS will have to disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before leases take effect. Leases will include a federal form about lead-based paint. SELLERS will have to disclose known information on lead-based paint hazards before selling a house. Sales contracts will include a federal form about lead-based paint in the building. Buyers will have up to 10 days to check for lead hazards. RENOVATORS will have to give you this pamphlet before starting work. If you want more information on these requirements, call the National Lead Information Clearinghouse at 1-800-424-LEAD.

*1 out of every 11 children in the United States has dangerous levels of lead in the bloodstream.*

*Even children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead.*

People can get lead in their body if they:

• Put their hands or other objects covered with lead dust in their mouths.
• Eat paint chips or soil that contain lead.
• Breathe in lead dust (especially during renovations that disturb painted surfaces).

• Babies and young children often put their hands and other objects in their mouths. These objects can have lead dust on them.
• Children's growing bodies absorb more lead.
• Children's brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.

If not detected early, children with high levels of lead in their bodies can suffer from:

• 
• Damage to the brain and nervous system
• Behavior and learning problems (such as hyperactivity)
• Slowed growth
• Hearing problems
• Headaches

• Difficulties during pregnancy
• Other reproductive problems (in both men and women)
• High blood pressure
• Digestive problems
• Nerve disorders
• Memory and concentration problems
• Muscle and joint pain

*Get your children tested if you think your home has high levels of lead.*

• Children who are 6 months to 1 year old (6 months if you live in an older home that might have lead in the paint).
• Family members that you think might have high levels of lead.

Your doctor or health center can do blood tests. They are inexpensive and sometimes free. Your doctor will explain what the test results mean. Treatment can range from changes in your diet to medication or a hospital stay.

*In general, the older your home, the more likely it has lead-based paint. *

• In homes in the city, country, or suburbs.
• In apartments, single-family homes, and both private and public housing.
• Inside and outside of the house.
• In soil around a home. (Soil can pick up lead from exterior paint, or other sources such as past use of leaded gas in cars.)

Peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking lead-based paint is a hazard and needs immediate attention.

Lead-based paint may also be a hazard when found on surfaces that children can chew or that get a lot of wear-and-tear. These areas include:

• Windows and window sills.
• Doors and door frames.
• Stairs, railings, and banisters.
• Porches and fences.

Lead in soil can be a hazard when children play in bare soil or when people bring soil into the house on their shoes. Call your state agency (see below) to find out about soil testing for lead.

*Lead from paint chips, which you can see, and lead dust, which you can't always see, can both be serious hazards.*

*Just knowing that a home has lead-based paint may not tell you if there is a hazard.*

• A paint inspection tells you the lead content of every painted surface in your home. It won't tell you whether the paint is a hazard or how you should deal with it.
• A risk assessment tells you if there are any sources of serious lead exposure (such as peeling paint and lead dust). It also tells you what actions to take to address these hazards.

Trained professionals use a range of methods when checking your home, including:

• Visual inspection of paint condition and location.
• Lab tests of paint samples.
• Surface dust tests.
• A portable x-ray fluorescence machine.

*Removing lead improperly can increase the hazard to your family by spreading even more lead dust around the house.*

In addition to day-to-day cleaning and good nutrition:

• You can temporarily reduce lead hazards by taking actions like repairing damaged painted surfaces and planting grass to cover soil with high lead levels. These actions (called "interim controls") are not permanent solutions and will not eliminate all risks of exposure.
• To permanently remove lead hazards, you must hire a lead "abatement" contractor. Abatement (or permanent hazard elimination) methods include removing, sealing, or enclosing lead-based paint with special materials. Just painting over the hazard with regular paint is not enough.

Call your state agency (see below) for help with locating qualified contractors in your area and to see if financial assistance is available.

• Have the area tested for lead-based paint.
• Do not use a dry scraper, belt-sander, propane torch, or heat gun to remove lead-based paint. These actions create large amounts of lead dust and fumes. Lead dust can remain in your home long after the work is done.
• Temporarily move your family (especially children and pregnant women) out of the apartment or house until the work is done and the area is properly cleaned. If you can't move your family, at least completely seal off the work area.
• Follow other safety measures to reduce lead hazards. You can find out about other safety measures by calling 1-800-424-LEAD. Ask for the brochure "Reducing Lead Hazards When Remodeling Your Home." This brochure explains what to do before, during, and after renovations.

*If not conducted properly, certain types of renovations can release lead from paint and dust into the air.*

*While paint, dust, and soil are the most common lead hazards, other lead sources also exist.*

• Drinking water. Your home might have plumbing with lead or lead solder. Call your local health department or water supplier to find out about testing your water. You cannot see, smell, or taste lead, and boiling your water will not get rid of lead. If you think your plumbing might have lead in it:
  • Use only cold water for drinking and cooking.
  • Run water for 15 to 30 seconds before drinking it, especially if you have not used your water for a few hours.
• The job. If you work with lead, you could bring it home on your hands or clothes. Shower and change clothes before coming home. Launder your clothes separately from the rest of your family's.
• Old painted toys and furniture.
• Food and liquids stored in lead crystal or lead-glazed pottery or porcelain.
• Lead smelters or other industries that release lead into the air.
• Hobbies that use lead, such as making pottery or stained glass, or refinishing furniture.
• Folk remedies that contain lead, such as "greta" and "azarcon" used to treat an upset stomach.

EPA Regional Offices

Region 1 (Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)
John F. Kennedy Federal Building
One Congress Street
Boston, MA 02203
(617) 565-3420

Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands) Building 5
2890 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3679
(908) 321-6671

Region 3 (Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia)
841 Chestnut Building
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 597-9800

Region 4 (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee)
61 Alabama St., SW
Atlanta, GA 30303-3104
(404) 562-8956

Region 6 (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) First Interstate Bank Tower
1445 Ross Avenue, 12th Floor, Suite 1200 Dallas, TX 75202-2733
(214) 665-7244

Region 7 (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska) 726 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913) 551-7020

Region 8 (Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming)
999 18th Street, Suite 500
Denver, CO 80202-2405
(303) 293-1603

Region 9 (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada) 75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(866)-EPA-WEST
(415) 947-8000

Region 10 (Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska) 1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 553-1200