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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffYou can take some simple measures to help protect you and your family from lead poisoning. These may include:
Lead assessment
- Have a professional check your home for lead. Home lead tests may not be reliable.
- Talk to your landlord. If you live in a rental property and your child has an elevated blood lead level, your landlord may be required to take certain actions to reduce your lead exposure. If you live in public housing, there may be a requirement to assess the lead risk and correct the situation if a high lead level is found.
Everyday tasks
If you live in or near an area that contains lead, these suggestions can help reduce your risk:
- Wash your children's hands after outdoor play, before eating and at bedtime.
- Clean your floors with a wet mop and wipe furniture, windowsills and other dusty surfaces with a damp cloth.
- Run cold water for at least a minute before using, if you have older plumbing containing lead pipes or fittings. Don't use hot tap water to make baby formula or for cooking.
Home renovation
If you're doing minor remodeling or touch-up work in an older house with lead-based paint, take precautions:
- Wear protective equipment and clothing. Change your clothes, take a shower and wash your hair before leaving the job. Don't shake out work clothes or wash them with other clothes.
- Be careful where you eat. Don't eat or drink in an area where lead dust may be present.
- Don't attempt to remove the lead paint by sanding. Sanding surfaces painted with lead is hazardous because it generates large amounts of small particles.
- Don't use an open-flame torch to remove paint. The flame produces lead particles small enough to inhale.
- Use caution in painting over old lead paint with new, lead-free enamel. Removing old lead paint may not always be possible. If the paint is on tight, without many chips, you can paint over it. You can also use paneling, drywall or encapsulation, which is similar to a very thick coat of paint.
- CDC's Third National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals: Spotlight on Lead. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/factsheet_lead.pdf. Accessed Jan. 17, 2009.
- ToxFAQs for lead. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts13.html#bookmark05. Accessed Jan. 17, 2008.
- Goldman RH, et al. Adult lead poisoning. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 19, 2008.
- HUD sets new requirements to prevent childhood lead poisoning in housing assisted or being sold by the federal government. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. http://nhl.gov/offices/lead/library/enforcement/1012fs.pdf. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
- General lead information: Questions and answers. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/about.htm. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
- Protect your family from lead in your home. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/426.pdf. Accessed Jan. 23, 2009.
