Get the Lead Out! What You Should Know about Lead Paint

Since the 1980s, the EPA has worked hard to phase out lead in gasoline, reduce its occurrence in drinking water, and ban or limit lead used in consumer products, including paint. (Lead was used as a pigment and drying agent in alkyd oil-based paint and was banned for use in paint in 1978.)

Despite the ban, in 2005, the EPA found that 434,000 children aged one to five had elevated blood lead levels. Schools, parents, and pediatricians now recognize the need to screen children regularly to monitor lead levels.

As a parent, you should know exactly where lead is prevalent and why, as well as what you can do to minimize your child's exposure to this toxin.

Threats to children and babies include irreversible brain damage, impaired mental functioning, retarded mental and physical development, and reduced attention span. Lead poisoning also harms fetal development. But it's not just children and infants who are at danger. Lead can also cause irritability and poor muscle coordination, damage the sense organs and nerves controlling the body, and harm the reproductive organs in adults.