Who is at Risk and Why?

Regulations have been in place for decades regarding lead exposure, particularly relating to metal fumes, use of lead containers, ingestion of lead, etc. What has caused the state and federal activity is research that has validated even minimal amounts of lead exposure that may affect neural functioning, coordination and intelligence of children. Even the lead abatement industry seems to be deferring to the overwhelming evidence from both animal studies and retrospective studies involving testing of children's teeth, blood and intelligence over a period of years:

Reducing Exposures

The major focus of the federal government's outreach effort will probably be daycare centers and schools. Both types of facilities have the potential for childhood exposures, when neural impact is much more damaging. The sheer density of numbers of children in a school makes any form of toxin much more likely to create risk. Certain products, generally art products, used in schools and daycare centers may cause exposure; children play outside frequently and can inhale quantities of dust particles or actually ingest dirt which may be contaminated; lead-based paint that chips off may be ingested or degrade at some level into the atmosphere over time in the form of lead-bearing dust.

The institutionalization of blood testing among children to determine levels of lead and exposure may occur. It is estimated that 16% of children will hit the new threshold (7% in more affluent areas where buildings are better maintained, or up to 25% in poorer areas where properties are poorly maintained). Two school buildings have already been closed down because of lead exposure, based on initial blood tests.

What Should Happen Now?

Most exposures probably occur in early childhood in homes where there is access to chipped/deteriorated paint or paint dust. This is not a certainty, but appears to be the most common route of exposure. Schools and daycare centers can also be sources of exposure and may be identified as potentially causing environmental risk to children. Whatever the evolution of regulation, which will probably be realized federally, it is important for both daycare centers and schools to do a proper survey now to limit routes of exposure which can potentially contaminate children. The following are procedures we think make sense:

• Soils should be tested in outdoor areas where children play. The protocol and chain of custody for testing is straightforward and inexpensive. Exposure in this way may not be likely, but testing does make sense, especially in play areas or areas adjacent to building structures where paint may have been scraped onto the ground or near roadways where emitted particles may have settled.

• There should be a review of products used in fine arts, elementary art and preschool art of compounds used around food service areas, i.e. fungicides, and of products or processes used in industrial arts classes or in automotive classes or programs.

• In our view, it is wise to test building products for lead in elementary schools and daycare centers. This will almost always focus on paint. There is a machine, commonly known as an XRF, that can conduct the testing and produce the analysis quickly, operated by properly trained and certified individuals. It is also possible to simply take a scraping or core of the paint and send it to a certified laboratory for analysis.

• If there is genuine risk potential, the coordination of appropriate blood tests through the school may eventually be called for and would be a service to the children.

• Curricula which treat lead as a danger should be considered for incorporation into existing school curricula.