If your home or office was built before 1978, there’s a good chance it was painted with lead-based paint. Exposure to lead-based paint can be very dangerous, especially to infants, children, and women who are pregnant, so it’s important to know how to protect your family and yourself.
The Danger of Exposure
Even low levels of exposure to lead-based paint can cause headaches, learning disabilities, behavior problems, kidney damage, hearing problems, and more. Low levels of lead-based paint can also affect the development of unborn babies in pregnant women.
High levels of exposure can lead to poisoning, anemia, brain damage and damage to the nervous system.
Types of Exposure
Interior paint that is chipping or flaking — Most exposure to lead-based paint is through ingestion. Chipping or flaking paint can easily end up in the mouth of a curious toddler.
Interior paint that is crushed or sanded — Home or office renovations can send particles of lead paint into the air that are ingested through breathing.
Lead-based paint on the exterior of your home can chip or flake, then mix with the soil around your home. Kids playing outside can be exposed, or the contaminated soil can be tracked into your home.
Who’s at Risk?
Everyone who lives or works around lead-based paint could be at risk, but infants, children, and pregnant women are at higher risk. Children’s bodies absorb lead more easily than adults’, and their brains and nervous systems are more susceptible to the damage lead-based paint can cause.
How to Determine if You Have Lead-Based Paint
The best way to determine if you have lead-based paint is to have your home or office tested by a trained professional. You can also purchase a testing kit at your local home improvement or hardware store. Results usually take several weeks to come back.
Paint before 1960 was commonly made of lead. Even small amounts of lead can be found in paint made between 1960 and 1992. All paint made after 1992 is lead-free — as long as you have no paint in your home or office that was applied before 1992, you should be safe.
How To Protect Yourself
You can paint over lead-based paint, or you can remove it. Removing it takes very careful preparation, stripping, and a thorough cleanup each day of the removal process.
For more information on the dangers of lead, including lead found in water, toys, and other sources, and to learn how you can protect yourself and your loved ones, visit the EPA’s website.
Burlett Painting is a lead certified firm that can remove lead to a safe level, make the necessary repairs, and repaint. We take every precaution to ensure that lead dust and particles are contained during the removal process, and we dispose of all debris safely and according to strict guidelines. Contact us today. We can determine if your home or office contains lead based paint and safely remove it, giving you peace of mind!