Repairs & Maintenance   -   Environmental Issues

      Get the Lead Out: Potential Toxin in Your Home

Lead has been used for thousands of years in many things, from the paint and art on our walls to the candles, ceramic dishes and crystal glasses on dinner tables. It was used to reduce engine knocking in our cars and keep pests from eating fruit crops. It blocks radiation when we get X-rays and was once widely used as solder on copper water pipes. The danger of this metal has long been known and in the 1970's and 1980's, great strides were made in reducing its use. Unfortunately, contamination persists in our environment, including our homes. Most people are unaware of its presence until the damage is done and the victims are most often children.

Lead, a heavy, malleable metal, has absolutely no beneficial effect for our bodies; it can only do harm. It can be found in varying quantities in many places where we work and play. This metal can be absorbed into the bloodstream by breathing or eating small particles. Symptoms of poisoning include lack of appetite, abdominal pain, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability and headaches. In severe cases, victims can experience vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions, which can result in coma and death. Lead is particularly hazardous to children because it damages the developing brain and nervous system, potentially causing learning disabilities, hearing loss and behavior problems.

Strangely, lead has been used in ways that have poisoned people despite the fact that its adverse effects have been known for centuries. The knowledge of its danger was either lost or overshadowed by its many advantages, including softness, low melting point, and resistance to corrosion. Two millennia ago the Greeks and Romans noticed negative side effects in workers handling lead. In the 18th and 19th centuries, sterility, miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature delivery were observed in women who worked with lead, or were married to men who were regularly exposed to lead. Children born to these women had lower birth weights, were sickly, and had a higher incidence of mental disabilities. One theory about the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic in the 1840's was that the explorers suffered dementia as a result of eating food from lead-soldered cans.

Paint
If you live in a house built before 1950 you can almost be certain that the original paint (if any) contained lead. Until the late 1950's paint contained up to 50% lead because it added to the paint's durability. Consult a professional for paint removal. The dust that is created during removal can be extremely hazardous; children should be relocated during the removal process.

Gasoline
For years, lead was added to gasoline to improve engine performance. Then it was discovered that it became airborne and was deposited in the soil and inhaled by people. The phasing out of leaded gasoline in Canada began in the 1970's; the engines of today's vehicles run on unleaded gasoline.

Water
Lead solder in the plumbing of old homes and buildings, as well as old municipal piping is the main source of lead in drinking water. In 1986, lead solder for plumbing was banned for public water sources and in 1988, for new homes. Acidic water can increase the amount of lead that leaches out of soldering. If you have an older home and rust stains in your sinks (a sign of acidic water), you should consider having your water tested.

Food
Lead can enter food through certain pesticides and solder on cans. In 1979, 90% of cans used lead solder. In the late 1980s it was down to 20% and continues to decrease. Avoid canned goods from foreign countries (other than the U.S. which is highly regulated) when possible. Lead arsenate, which is no longer allowed to be used in Canada, was once a common pesticide on fruit.

Soil
Soil contaminated with lead is a primary source of the metal in children. Leaded gasoline, industrial emissions, pesticides and paint can all add lead to the soil.

Preventing Exposure

• Children have a tendency to play in the dirt and put their fingers in their mouths. Encourage them not to put their dirty hands near their mouths when playing outside.
• Seek professional help to remove old paint unless you are certain it is lead-free.
• Do not serve or store food or beverages (acidic or alcoholic drinks) in glazed pottery or crystal containers unless you are sure they are lead-free.
• If you are connected to a municipal water source, flush pipes for 10 seconds before drinking the water.
• Candles with metal wicks are often made with lead. Avoid using these candles which, when burned, will release lead into the air.
• Never use exterior paint indoors.
• If your backyard was once part of a fruit orchard, you may want to have the soil tested if pesticides were used.

More Lead Facts

• Boiling will not remove lead from drinking water.
• Some hobbies such as furniture refinishing, model building, repairing cars or boats, oil painting, lead soldering in home electronics and stained glass can be sources of lead.
• Calcium and iron-rich foods can reduce lead absorption.

To find out more about lead and lead testing, contact the federal Ministry of Environment listed in the blue pages of your phone book or click here: http://www.ec.gc.ca

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