Frequent Questions on General Information About Lead

Lead Basics

What is lead?

Lead is a toxic metal that was used for many years in products found in and around our homes. Lead also can be emitted into the air from motor vehicles and industrial sources, and lead can enter drinking water from plumbing materials. Lead-based paint is present in many homes built before 1978. The federal government banned the use of lead-based paint in housing in 1978. Learn more about lead.

Question Number: 23002-22416

Common Sources of Lead Exposure

Where is lead found?

Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint. In general, the older your home, the more likely it has lead-based paint. Soil around a home can contain lead from sources like deteriorated exterior paint, past use of leaded gas in cars, or from past renovation activities. Household dust can pick up lead from deteriorating lead-based paint, from past renovation projects, or from soil tracked into a home. If you work with lead, you could bring it home on your hands or clothes. It is important to shower and change clothes before going home. Launder your work clothes separately from the rest of your family's clothes. Learn more about sources of lead.

Question Number: 23002-24471

What is the most significant source of childhood lead exposure in a residence?

The scientific literature suggests that nationally lead-contaminated paint dust is the most significant source of childhood lead exposure. Lead dust comes from deteriorating lead-based paint and lead-contaminated soil that gets tracked into your home. This dust may accumulate to unsafe levels. Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting and demolition can also create hazardous lead dust. People, especially children, can swallow lead dust as they eat, play and do other normal hand-to-mouth activities.

Question Number: 23002-22897

What to Do If You’re Concerned

What should I do if I am concerned about my family's exposure to lead?

A blood lead test is the best way to find out whether you or a family member has been exposed to lead. Call your doctor or local health department to arrange for a blood lead test. You can protect your family every day by:

Regularly cleaning floors, window sills and other surfaces
Washing children's hands, bottles, pacifiers and toys often
Making sure children eat a healthy, nutritious diet high in calcium, iron and vitamin C
Wiping off shoes before entering the house
Using an EPA-certified firm for renovations, or if you are doing the renovation yourself, using DIY lead-safe work practices

View more information about lead.

Question Number: 23002-23458

Health Effects of Lead

What are some of the health effects of lead?

Lead is known to cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death. Children under six years of age are most at risk from exposure to lead-based paint because they crawl on the floor and they put their hands and other items which can have lead-based paint dust on them into their mouths. Because their bodies are still growing, children tend to absorb more lead than adults.

Children exposed to lead can suffer from:

Lowered IQ
Damage to the brain and nervous system
Learning and behavioral difficulties
Slowed growth
Hearing problems
Headaches

Adults can suffer from:

Reproductive problems (in both men and women)
High blood pressure and hypertension
Nerve disorders
Memory and concentration problems
Muscle and joint pain

Learn more about the health effects of lead.

Question Number: 23002-21128

What are some of the health effects of lead in children?

Lead is especially dangerous to children under six years of age. Even low levels of lead in the blood have been shown to reduce children’s IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement and children who appear healthy can have dangerous levels of lead in their bodies. Learn more about the health effects of lead (pdf).

Question Number: 23002-21129

Lead in Homes & What to Do When Buying or Renting

I thought lead-based paint had been phased out. How many homes still contain lead-based paint?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) American Healthy Homes Survey II estimated that 34.6 million homes (29.4% of all housing units) in the United States contain lead-based paint that was applied before the residential use of lead-based paint was banned in 1978. "Housing units" include single-family homes, manufactured housing and multi-unit dwellings like apartments. Vacant housing, group quarters (e.g., prisons, hospitals and dormitories), hotels, motels and other short-term housing, military bases, and housing where children are not permitted to live (e.g., housing designated exclusively for the elderly and those with zero-bedroom units) are not included in this number. More information on these statistics is available from HUD.

Question Number: 23002-18139

What information can I get about lead-based paint in a home before I buy or rent it?

Many houses and apartments built before 1978 have some lead-based paint. Lead from paint chips and dust can pose serious health hazards if not taken care of properly. Homebuyers and renters of most pre-1978 private, public, federally owned housing and housing receiving federal assistance have the right to know whether lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards are present before signing a contract or lease. Before a homebuyer signs a contract for a housing sale or a renter signs a lease, federal law requires sellers and landlords, real estate agents and property managers to:

Disclose any known information about the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the housing being sold or rented
Provide buyers and renters with all available records or reports on the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in the home and building
Give buyers and renters with a copy of the Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home pamphlet
Provide a "Lead Warning Statement" to buyers or renters explaining, among other things, that lead from paint can pose health hazards if not managed properly. This can be an attachment to or as language inserted into the contract or lease

In addition, sellers must give potential buyers an opportunity to check the home for lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards. Learn more about the requirements of the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule.

Question Number: 23002-21996

Safe Handling of Older Building Materials

Building material reuse stores sometimes accept older materials which have been coated with lead-based paint and could pose a lead poisoning hazard. How can employees of these stores and their customers manage lead hazards associated with these older building materials?

As a preliminary matter, your state may have laws or regulations addressing the management, handling or sale of materials containing lead-based paint. Therefore, building material reuse stores should contact both their state health department and state environmental agency for more specific directions. In addition to complying with all state or local law and regulations, EPA recommends the following practices to help minimize lead exposure to employees, volunteers and customers.

At a minimum, EPA suggests that reuse stores label suspect items to indicate that they may contain lead, educate staff about lead hazards and provide outreach materials to customers about lead-safe work practices. Some useful resources include:

These can be downloaded from EPA’s website or digital copies can be requested from the National Lead Information Center at 1(800)424-LEAD.

EPA suggests that re-use stores assume the presence of lead-based paint in pre-1978 residential building materials and all other non-residential building materials, or have these materials tested. Lead test kits that have been recognized by EPA are available at most hardware stores; alternatively, an XRF analyzer can be used to detect lead or a paint chip can be sent to a laboratory for analysis.

Question Number: 23002-32411