Surprisingly, I often come across clients who have heard about lead poisoning, but aren’t really sure how it can affect them or their family, or what they should do if they suspect their home may have lead. The following is an excerpt from a publication provided by the EPA that real estate agents are to provide customers who plan to buy or sell a home built before 1978. Landlords also should know that it is your duty to provide similar information to potential tenants prior to ratifying the lease.

If you would like a copy of the full publication, email me and I’ll send you one.

Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have paint that contains high levels of lead (called leadbased paint). Lead from paint, chips, and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly.

It is important to know that even exposure to low levels of lead can severely harm children.

In children, lead can cause:

• Nervous system and kidney damage.
• Learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, and decreased intelligence.
• Speech, language, and behavior problems.
• Poor muscle coordination.
• Decreased muscle and bone growth.
• Hearing damage.

While low-lead exposure is most common, exposure to high levels of lead can have devastating effects on children, including seizures, unconsciousness, and, in some cases, death. Although children are especially susceptible to lead exposure, lead can be dangerous for adults too.

In adults, lead can cause:

• Increased chance of illness during pregnancy.
• Harm to a fetus, including brain damage or death.
• Fertility problems (in men and women).
• High blood pressure.
• Digestive problems.
• Nerve disorders.
• Memory and concentration problems.
• Muscle and joint pain.

You can get your home tested for lead in several different ways:

• A paint inspection tells you whether your home has lead-based paint and where it is located. It won’t tell you whether or not your home currently has lead hazards.
• A risk assessment tells you if your home currently has any lead hazards from leadin paint, dust, or soil. It also tells you what actions to take to address any hazards.
• A combination risk assessment and inspection tells you if your home has any lead hazards and if your home has any lead-based paint, and where the lead-based paint is located.
• Hire a trained and certified testing professional who will use a range of reliable methods when testing your home.
• Visual inspection of paint condition and location.
• A portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) machine.
• Lab tests of paint, dust, and soil samples.
• Home test kits for lead are available, but may not always be accurate. Consumers should not rely on these kits before doing renovations or to assure safety.

There are state and federal programs in place to ensure that testing is done safely, reliably, and effectively. Contact your state or local agency for more information, or call 1-800-424-LEAD (5323) for a list of contacts in your area.