After its heavy usage until the 1980’s, lead paint was officially banned for its extremely dangerous health effects upon inhalation – namely Lead Poisoning. While lead can be found in the air, water, and soil, the most common way to contract Lead Poisoning is inhaling the dust of lead-containing paint. While lead paint has been banned for decades, it still resides on so many of our homes and buildings. The most common place to find this durable and pigmented paint are on the door frames and window panes of older buildings. Because these are high friction points with a lot of opening and closing, the paint on these often become chips that fall or dust that spreads into the air.
Sadly, Lead Poisoning has the severest effects on children. Their developing bodies are 4 to 5 times as likely to be harmed by this threat than adult bodies are. Lead is a toxin that largely affects brain function, leading to decreased levels of academic success, social interactions, and physical activity. It leads to higher incidences of ADHD, violence, and suicide. Children below the age of 6 and pregnant women are most susceptible to this threat.
This issue has the largest effect on low-income neighborhoods that generally have older housing. This is why the Central New York Community Foundation has recently, as of March 2021, begun an initiative to replace all lead-painted doors and windows in low-income units in Syracuse. 90% of Syracuse’s housing was built before lead paint’s ban in 1978. 10% of the children in this population have been found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood.
LeadSafeCNY, the lead-specific NY initiative, has donated more than $1 million to date towards this issue. They have replaced 600 windows and 79 doors, and have developed 60 new safe rental units. In addition, they have conducted 41 trainings on lead safety for these communities.
Lead safety is becoming a more widespread topic in the public safety world. The more people are made aware of this common poison, the more they will be inclined to have their own homes tested for and remediated of lead. Not sure if your home contains lead paint? An inspection is simple and easy to arrange and could quite literally save lives. If lead is found, remediation should certainly be done by a professional, as removing the lead chips is dangerous if not done with the right equipment and garb. Make this simple choice today and tell your friends and family how worthwhile it is.
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