The Lowdown on Lead Paint

...remiss in the "prevention" part of its title. My enormously frustrating experience showed that for private homeowners who are informed & willing to expend great effort & invest much money to be proactive and truly preventative - is no guarantee that such efforts will result in a safe environment for pregnancy or for the raising of small children. Our certified abatement contractor shirked responsibility following the lead inspection showing very high levels of lead contamination , due to dust containment failure. We had responsibility to pay for a less safe environment, & yet due to the weak & ambiguously written NH lead laws, the contractor was not responsible to correct the situation & our govt. agencies w/out authority to provide any enforcement. Come to find out, our remiss contractor had a significant contribution in writing the ambiguous rules! Had we, uninformed, brought an infant into the home pre-abatement, such child could have lead poisoning, possibly severe - & NHCHLPPP could help. And if we brought an infant into this contaminated post-"abatement" environment, it is likely that such child would have significant poisoning - & NHCHLPPP can help. Prevention?! Certainly not rightly an economic issue, as long as economy continues to be such a determining agent in our society, prevention is less costly than providing care for harm done.

I believe lead paint was legally sold and used until the late 1970's, all over N America. I'm not sure why only apartment dwellers seem to have these issues. It's in most every house and building built before the late 1970's. I live in a house built in 1832, and yes, it probably has lead paint.
So if the general court wants to "protect" citizens, they have to reasonably look at the total problem. And think about the havoc it will cause if they change the laws so that 80% + (guesstimate) of the housing stock in N America and NH needs to be "cleared" of the lead paint. Do they want to "appropriate money" to help us with this? I think not. Are they prepared to say that no home can be sold in NH that was built before the late 1970's because it might have some lead paint in it? This "school of unintended consequences" could shut down the housing market in the state.
Better to educate and make people aware of the problems (dust, peeling paint, etc.) And don't let the kids eat or chew on the paint!
Is lead paint any worse than transfats, radon, MBTE in MANY of the water supplies and wells, etc.? Tough issues.
How to proceed? Very carefully.

Probably too late for today's program - but has no one dealt with the NH-DHHS Lead Safe Renovator program? This is offered for both owners and contractors. I attended as a contractor and found it an excellent source of information.

I retired from a 30 year career in public health last year. During my 30 plus years in public health I was involved in many very serious and tragic events. However, the one single event that haunts me to this day was the death due to lead poisoning of a 2 year old refugee child in 2000. As lead invistigator of the public health investigation of Sunday Abek's death, I was personally involved with the family, friends, police, CDC, lawyers, EPA, State Officials, the Medical Examiner, health care providers among others. Since Sunday's death very little has changed in New Hampshire with regard to lead poisoning prevention that would prevent another child to suffer the same fate. The death of Sunday Abek reflected a litany of failure that began over 100 years ago and continues to this day.

The failure of the government to ban lead in paint in the early 20th century as other responsible countries did is the first of the litany of failures. The hazards of lead were well known in the early 1900's, but the financial considerations of the lead and paint industry took priority over the health and safety of children. This failure was continued for another 70 years before lead was finally banned from paint in 1976. Unfortunately however, this was much too little much too late to prevent the legacy of our early lead paint failures to continue to this day and possibly well beyond. There has also been failure on the part of federal, state and local governments to pass legislation and regulations that could have reduced the impact of allowing lead to be placed in paint. There has been failure especially on the part of state and local governments to consistently and strictly enforce those laws and regulations that were in effect. The failure of property owners to sefl-regulate themselves to weed out and sanction those in their industry who fail to protect their tennants. Failure on the part of the media to inform the public and apply editorial pressure on policy makers to address this serious public health problem. If 250 children in New Hampshire were poisoned by anything other than lead every year there would be a huge outcry. Is it because this is an issue that excessively impacts the poor and people of color? Yes, for over 100 years we have compounded one failure after failure which resulted in the death of Sunday Abek.

As we enter 2007 and the introduction of a more effective lead poisoning law, we are hearing the same arguments and horror stories that have sustained the failures of the past 100 years. How much longer must we allow the legacy of our failure over 100 years ago to continue to destroy the brains and lives of children before we join to end this madness? The time has come for all parties involved to recognize that they have a moral and legal responsibility to solve this problem now. It is especially incumbent on our Legislative and Executive branches to understand, that first and foremost, their responsibility is to protect the health and safety of the citizens. This is their constitutional mandate and to do otherwise is a violation of their sworn oath of office.

Rich DiPentima, RN, MPH

The NH Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP), a program of the state's Department of Health & Human Services, provides case management services for all children with a blood lead level (BLL) of 10 mcg/dL or greater as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Case management includes education and consultation to the child's family, the property owner, and the health care provider. In addition, NH CLPPP offers free lead safe renovator courses throughout the state to educate any landlord, property owner, contractor, etc. about lead safe work practices.

NH statute RSA130-A allows an environmental investigation when a child under age 6 has a BLL of 20 mcg/dL or above (or if there are 2 consecutive BLLs between 15 and 19 mcg/dL at least 90 days apart). If a lead hazard is found in this property on inspection, NH DHHS can issue an Order of Lead Hazard Reduction which requires the property owner to address the lead hazard. The proposed legislative changes include lowering the level at which an investigation occurs, but would not change the current program protocol of providing case management at levels of 10 mcg/dL or greater.

CLPPP has a toll free number for additional information: 800-897-LEAD

The NH Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program defines a blood level of 10 mcg/dL or above as elevated. In 2005, there were 215 new cases of children under the age of 6 identified with elevated blood lead levels in New Hampshire. Twenty-five of these cases were greater than or equal to 20 mcg/dL when first identified. NH statute RSA130-A allows an environmental investigation of a property when a BLL is 20 mcg/dL or above (or if there are 2 consecutive BLLs between 15 and 19 mcg/dL at least 90 days apart). If a lead hazard is found in this property, NH DHHS can issue an Order of Lead Hazard Reduction to address the lead hazard.
For more information, please contact 800-897-LEAD.