This summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposal for stricter lead dust rules.
If passed, they’d lower what amount of lead is considered hazardous and what requires clean-up, or abatement.
When it comes to lead abatement, children act as the canary in our proverbial coal mine.
That’s how Dale Grosskurth, Environmental Health Resources Coordinator at the Marathon County Health Department, explained it.
“We verify that there's lead hazards in a property because the child had a blood test at the doctor's office and it came back elevated. And that's not the time that we want to try to address problems. We would like to see that happen earlier and sometimes, merely cleaning in a property is helpful,” he said.
Before 1978, lead was a common ingredient in paint.
That means that homes and childcare facilities from before that year could contain lead in their floors or window sills.
“In particular homes that are from the 1960’s, ‘50’s, ‘40’s and older, may well likely have lead paint in them. It's safe to always assume unless you've tested and proven otherwise,” he said.
Grosskurth warns that many lead poisonings in children occur after a child plays around or ingests paint chips.
“Kids, of course, are at window well and window sill height. They’re either sometimes chewing on windowsills, sometimes just playing in them. And they will put their fingers to their mouths, that's very common. Where kids are playing outside in the exposed dirt, they might be right around the perimeter of an old house that had lead siding on it,” he said.
No level of lead exposure is safe, explained Tiffany Palecek, Public Health Nurse at the Price County Health Department.
“But when they get that lead dust, it can end up where they have issues with developmental delays, even learning disabilities,” she said.
With this new proposal, the clean up standards will be tougher.
“It just makes the cleanup standards following lead abatement, lowers those. It means that the contractors that are involved will need to clean better than or processes change so that they can meet the new standard,” said Grosskurth.
Grosskurth urges homeowners, renters, and property owners to stay aware of lead exposure.
The EPA will accept public comments on the lead dust proposal until October 2nd.
For more information on lead safety, check out the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site,Lead-Safe Wisconsin: What is Lead Poisoning?
