Killer homes.
No one suspects it. But renovating a farmhouse in the suburbs or rehabbing a marble-stepped row house could lead to putting children in the hospital and, in some cases, deaths from lead poisoning.
“In 90 percent of the owner-occupied houses we remediate, home remodeling was a factor,” said Jim McCabe, an environmental risk assessor at Leadtec in Towson. “Whether done by a contractor while the people live at home, or by the occupants themselves,” remodeling can release lead dust ? the primary cause of lead poisoning in the home.
McCabe inspects homes for lead. He works primarily at the request of landlords complying with rental law, but sometimes homeowners call him after their child tests high for blood-lead content.
Removing lead paint from old homes can cause more damage than good, McCabe said. If the paint is in good condition ? not peeling or chipping ? any intervention could spread large amounts of lead dust through the home.
Lead was banned as a component of paint in 1977, but older homes can pose a risk. Aside from flaking and breaking down on the floor, lead paint on doors and windows ? any place with lots of friction ? almost always ends up on the floor. From there, it?s a short trip to a toddler?s digestive system, where lead stays around for a long time.
Small children can be exposed by eating paint chips, chewing on windowsills or other surfaces with lead paint or swallowing contaminated dust or soil that gets on their fingers, McCabe said.
Lead impairs the function of almost every organ and system in the body, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; however, the most noticeable damage is often to the nervous system.
Decreased mental ability, learning difficulties, retarded growth and weakness in fingers, wrists and ankles have been traced to lead, the CDC notes. Severe exposure causes brain and kidney damage and ultimately death.
Although 97 percent of Maryland children tested for lead are not at risk, according to state statistics, Ruth Ann Norton, director of the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, said the fight is not over. Single-family homes that are owned by their occupants present one of the biggest barriers, since lead testing is not mandated for them.
In Maryland, more than 1,300 children tested positive for high blood-lead levels in 2005. Norton said key figures in the legislature as well as Gov.-elect Martin O?Malley have pledged to eliminate new lead poisoning cases by 2010, but there is still a lot of work to do.
“We want to encourage state leaders to continue until the job is finished and not accept that good is good enough,” Norton said.
Help numbers
» Baltimore City Health Department: 443-984-2470
» Information for homeowners is available at www.mde.state.md.us
» Rental owners contact the Maryland Department of the Environment 410-537-4199 or 800-776-2706
