Facts about Lead Poisoning

Did you know...

• that lead can cause your child to have learning disabilities, kidney damage, brain damage or speech delays?

• lead poisoning can occur when your child is exposed to lead? Houses built before 1978 may have lead in the original construction materials. Lead may also be found in the soil around your house.

• if your child is on Medicaid, he is supposed to be tested for lead?  Testing should occur at one year and two years of age or at least once before the child turns six years old.

• certain foods, high in iron, vitamin C and calcium, can protect children from lead being absorbed into their bodies?

• fatty foods increase a child’s absorption of lead?

• lead dust may accumulate on small children’s hands? 

What you can do...

• If your home was built before 1978: Hire a contractor with HUD training in lead safe work practices to complete any repairs; frequently wash floors and window sills with soap and water; If you are renting, notify your landlord about chipping and flaking paint.

• Ask your physician to test your child for lead.

• Feed these foods to your child: Lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, green and yellow vegetables, fruit, low fat milk and other dairy products and beans.

• Limit these foods in your child’s diet: fried foods, lard, chips, bacon, sausage and donuts.

• Watch where your child plays; have your child play on grass or other surfaces, not bare soil.

• Frequently, have children wash their hands with soap and water.

• Follow the above suggestions to keep your child from being poisoned by lead.

   
  
   

National Association of Home Builders
News Alert: Second Lead Paint Bill Introduced in Congress - 6/7/12

Congressman Sullivan Introduces Bill to Improve Lead Paint Rule for Remodelers 

6/7/12 - Congressmen John Sullivan (R-Okla.) and Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) introduced H.R. 5911, the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012, to improve the lead paint rule for remodelers who must comply with the costly work practices and record keeping requirements of the rule.
H.R. 5911 is companion legislation to S.2148 introduced in March and responds to concerns from NAHB Remodelers and affiliated trade groups about the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting (LRRP) rule.

The EPA’s LRRP rule, which took effect on April 22, 2010, requires that remodelers and contractors working in homes built before 1978 be trained and certified by the EPA on lead-safe work practices before they can legally work in those homes.
The bi-partisan bill was introduced with additional co-sponsors including Reps. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.), Billy Long (R-Mo.), Kristi Noem (R-S.D.), Leonard Boswell (D-Iowa), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.)

“Congressmen Sullivan, Murphy, and their colleagues are to be commended for sponsoring this legislation that will not only make the EPA’s lead paint rule more workable, but continue to protect pregnant women and small children,” said NAHB Remodelers Chairman George “Geep” Moore Jr., GMB, CAPS, GMR, a remodeler from Elm Grove, La. “Along with S. 2148, this legislation shows that there is support in Congress for improving the lead paint rule to make it easier for homeowners and lead-safe certified renovators who are working to comply with this overly burdensome regulation.”

The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012 will:
• Reinstate the opt-out provision to allow home owners without small children or pregnant women residing in them to decide whether to require LRRP compliance, not the government.
• Suspend the LRRP if EPA does not approve a commercially available test kit that meets the regulation’s requirements.
• Allow remodelers the “right to cure” paperwork errors found during an inspection.
• Eliminate the “hands on” recertification training requirements.
• Prohibit EPA from expanding the LRRP to commercial and public buildings until at least one year after the agency conducts a study demonstrating the need for such an action.
• Clarify the definition of “abatement” to specifically exclude remodeling and renovation activities.
• Provide an exemption to the regulation for emergency renovations.
To learn more about lead paint legislation, email Courtney Flezzani at NAHB or call her 800-368-5242, x8459.
For additional information about lead paint rule enforcement and compliance, visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint.