The Dangerous Side of Living in Quaint Homes: Old Lead Paint

Even though paint formulated with lead in it has been against the law for a long time, it remains a real issue for sellers and real estate professionals. In 1992, a law referred to as the Housing and Community Development Act established a requirement that the seller was required to make a signed disclosure of known lead-based paint to the buyer of a home in order to complete the sale. Lead had been used as a paint additive for well over a century before it was definitively linked to health problems in approximately 1978. That year, it was determined that lead was prohibited from being put in paint as an additive.

Lead-based paint in the home can expose the family to lead poisoning. Young children under six years old are at the highest risk of developing lead poisoning from lead-based paint because young, actively growing bodies take in many of the mineral substances they touch, regardless of whether it is much needed calcium or a deadly substance such as lead. Continuously high levels of lead can lead to brain and organ damage, behavior problems, hearing difficulties, and can seriously damage the nervous system. These problems can occur in adults and children, and additionally in the case of children, it can cause impairment of normal growth.

Any home that was built earlier than 1978 that has cracked, peeling, or chipped paint should be considered a potential hazard. The paint should be repaired as a high priority. If paint containing lead was used around the door or window frames in the home, normal usage of these things in the home may be creating a surprisingly large amount of dust containing lead. Lead dust is hazardous and can be almost impossible to dispose of. Sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting can cause it to reenter the air and dust will be kicked up every time you move around. The dust can also be tracked out into the yard where it will contaminate the soil around the home. This could pose a further risk for young children, as well as pets and growing plants.

Are You at Risk?

In order to find out whether or not your home has a lead-based paint problem, if you live in a home built prior to 1978, the most conservative thing to do is to get a paint inspection done by a professional. That will let you determine lead additive in every painted surface in the home and will uncover any areas of serious lead danger.

Even though there are kits that individuals can buy to run the testing themselves, an inspection by a licensed professional is highly recommended to uncover problem areas that may be missed by a nonprofessional.

Content provided by the Colorado home experts, Automated Homefinder.