FACT: You have the right to seek compensation for your child’s lead paint poisoning.
FACT: Lead paint poisoning is one of the most common environmental
health conditions affecting children in this country. Up to 4 million children
are affected by lead paint poisoning.
FACT: One out of six of children affected by lead poisoning are 6 years old or younger.
FACT: Children with severe cases of lead poisoning can experience brain
damage, frequent headaches, hearing problems, stunted growth, diminished
learning, and behavioral dysfunction (especially hyperactivity).
FACT: Approximately 86-95% of all lead paint use is confined to housing
built before 1960.
FACT: Many apartment and houses built before 1950 were painted with lead
based paint with concentrations of 50% lead by weight.
FACT: Children’s touching of walls is not the only method of lead paint contamination. Lead can make its way into a child’s respiratory and digestive system through dust, soil, water, food, beverages, imported pottery/ceramics/china, fishing weights/rods, and certain health foods and cosmetics.
FACT: A child can be lead poisoned and not experience any physical symptoms
or changes in behavior.
FACT: Blood tests are the only way to determine whether a child has lead
poisoning.
FACT: A child with blood lead levels of 10 mcg/dcl or greater is lead poisoned according to Centers for Disease Control standards.
FACT: A child is estimated to lose 2 IQ points for every 10 mcg/dcl increase
in blood lead levels.
FACT: Lead poisoning can be very harmful even at low levels causing diminished
learning, behavioral dysfunctions, kidney damage, and stomach damage.
FACT: Children
can be harmed from lead paint poisoning while in the womb.
FACT: Improperly
removing lead based paint from a house or apartment can increase the likelihood
of lead paint poisoning.
LEAD PAINT RISK QUIZ
If you answer yes to any of the below questions, your child may be at risk for lead poisoning.
Do your children?
Yes
No
Don't Know
1) Live in or often visit a house that was built before 1950.
2) Live in or often visit a house that was built before 1978 and is being remodeled.
3) Have playmates or friends that have high lead levels.
4) Live in a zip code where more than 27% of the housing was built before 1950 (check with your local health department to see if you live in a high risk area).
5) Belong to a high risk group, including living in poverty, receiving aid from Medicaid and/or WIC.
Your child may also need to be screened for lead poisoning if he has any of the following risk factors that place him at risk for being exposed to lead:
6) Eats or chews on nonfood things (called pica), such as paint chips or dirt.
7) Has family members that work at a place or has a hobby that involves any of the following:
radiator repair
lead industry
welding
battery manufacture or repair
house construction or repair
smelting
chemical preparation
making pottery
going to a firing range
stained glass with lead solder
brass or copper foundry
valve and pipe fittings
bridge, tunnel and elevated highway construction
industrial machinery or equipment
casting ammunition, fishing weights or toy soldiers
refinishing furniture
burning lead painted wood
automotive repair shop
8) Lives or plays near an area with any of the following:
smelter
hazardous waste site
lead industry
place where batteries are manufactured or repaired
house construction site
heavily traveled major highway
place where cars are abandoned or repaired
9) Consumes any of the following products:
medicines (especially home remedies) imported from another country, including:
pay-loo-ah (fever and rash treatment).
azarcon (a Mexican treatment for intestinal blockage or 'empacho' that is 90% lead. Also called Maria Luisa, Liga, Alarzon, Greta, Coral and Rueda. It is a bright orange powder).
Asian folk remedies, including Ghasard (a brown powder used to aid digestion), Bali Goli (a round, flat black bean that is dissolved in water) and Kandu (a red powder used to treat stomachaches).
Middle Eastern folk remedies, including farouk (teething) and bint al zahab (colic).
nutritional pills other than vitamins
cosmetics like surma or kohl
10) Lives in a home in which the plumbing has lead pipes, lead solder or lead containing holding tanks.
11) Eats foods that are cooked or stored in imported or glazed pottery.
12) Eats foods that are canned outside the United States.
13) Frequently chews on keys (which often contain small amounts of lead).
14) Has access to other lesser known sources of lead, including:
