Housing
Lead in our homes comes mainly from old paint.  Before being banned in 1978, all household paint contained Lead.  Urban cities are especially susceptible to the Lead hazard because of the number of older homes.  Urbanites also tend to live in rented rather than owned dwellings.  Rental properties tend to be both older and ill-maintained.  Renters have more peeling paint, Lead contaminated dust, and Lead health problems. 

It’s been estimated that 9 out of 10 homes in Newark, New Jersey for example are Lead contaminated. Up to 50% of Newark’s children may be affected by Lead poisoning.  Lead poisoning is the number one environmental health problem facing urban children.

If old paint is undisturbed, there’s no threat.  But peeling paint is another matter altogether, especially if young children are present.  Did you know paint chips are tasty?   They have a sweet, lemony taste little kids may find hard to resist.  Lead poisoning occurs most often not from eating paint chips but from repeated inhaling and ingesting small amounts of contaminated dust during hand-to-mouth activities.   Children absorb Lead much more easily than adults. 

Living with Lead
Lead is everywhere in our environment - a by-product of our country’s heavily industrial past.  It can be found in soil, on food, in drinking water, as well as in products we buy especially those manufactured abroad including some toys, makeup, jewelry, and foods.  

Lead paint on toys forced Mattel  Inc’s Fisher Price division to recall almost a million popular toys in 2007 like Dora the Explorer, Big Bird, Elmo, and Diego character toys manufactured in China. In all, 83 different types of toys were recalled.  2008 was another bad year for Lead in children’s toys.