Avoiding Lead Poisoning in Children Begins With Caution: Health Department

From the Will County Health Department:

A full 50 years after the research of Clair Cameron Patterson on the dangers of lead took off in the 60s, there are still many dangers out there. Yes, unleaded fuel has been the norm for many years. But there are still other ways for the body to develop poisoning by inhaling or absorbing lead.

One of the most common problems is old paint in homes. Although no homes built after 1978 are supposed to have lead paint, a lot of older ones still do. Will County Health Department Childhood Lead program manager Lyyti Dudczyk says one of the easiest ways to handle old lead paint is to simply paint over it. But if the old lead-based paint is peeling, then you have a problem.

“There is now a law,” Dudczyk said “that if a contractor is doing even a little project in a home built before 1978, they have to check for lead and take numerous precautions. But what we have seen many times is do-it-yourselfers just scraping away peeling paint, and not realizing that their children are inhaling lead dust as the chips of paint lie on the floor.”

When a child’s blood test shows an alarmingly high level of lead, the Will County Health Department goes into action. A grant from the Illinois Department of Public Health provides for testing for children six and under. In addition, if a child of any age receiving an examination at the Will County Health Department Community Health Center has a lead test that shows an elevated level, Dudczyk’s team is then informed and handles the case.

“Our first step,” Dudczyk explained, “is to call the child’s regular health provider and check their records. The state then sends an environmental toxicologist to the home, and we try to be there at the same time to ask questions and provide information. We have to assure them that we are not looking for anything other than sources of lead. We are simply there for the health of the children.”

If the state investigators of the Health Department happen to notice, for example, a do-it-yourselfer paint job with old paint chips on the floor; the resident will be told to seal off the room for the remainder of the project. But sometimes it takes more detective work. Questions are asked about diet, or perhaps where the adults work.

“We’ve had situations where someone’s job was to clean a gun rack or to sand blast a water tower. Well, if that’s the case, they need to remove their work clothes before entering their home,” Dudczyk said.

There was also a recent case at the Health Department’s Community Health Center, discovered by pediatrician Dr. Carletha Hughes, involving an 11-year-old child who had recently moved to the area and showed a very high blood lead level. It was discovered that he hunted squirrels often, and would hold the bullets or pellets in his mouth.

“That was the problem,” Dudczyk recalled. “The lead was being absorbed into his body, just like the absorption that occurs into one’s body when they use chewing tobacco.”

For additional advice, Dudczyk stated that if you are in an old home with old lead-based paint, one thing to do immediately and on a regular basis is to wipe down the areas around your windows with a wet cloth, since the paint is always in contact with the trim of your windows. It is also a good idea, as it is with so many health issues, to wash your hands frequently.

More information can also be found at these websites: www.epa.gov (Environmental Protection Agency), www.cdc.gov (Center for Disease Control), and www.dph.illinois.gov (Illinois Department of Public Health.)

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