Focus Areas > Domestic Issues > Issues > Lead Poisoning

Lead Poisoning
The Community Lead Speakers’ Bureau provides community education about lead poisoning to neighborhood groups affected by lead poisoning as well as those non-affected people who may be able to contribute to change, such as landlords, realtors and politicians.

For more information or to arrange a speaker for your group, contact Domestic Issues Director, Gail Wechsler, at (314) 442-3894.

What is Lead Poisoning?
Lead poisoning is a condition caused most often by breathing or ingesting highly toxic lead dust or swallowing lead paint chips. Although current CDC guidelines consider a child to have lead poisoning at a blood level of 10 micrograms per deciliter, recent research indicates that children can suffer harmful effects from lead at even lower blood levels. The most common sources of lead exposure are deteriorating lead based paint that is chipping, peeling, flaking, chalking or cracking. Lead dust is created by high friction surfaces containing lead based paint such as windows, doors and stairs. Lead exposure can also come from soil that has been contaminated by lead paint, leaded gasoline or from industrial waste. Other sources include lead water pipes, poorly glazed pottery and old toys/antiques with lead paint.

Who is at risk?
Any one at any age can be poisoned, but lead is most dangerous to pregnant women and children under the age of six. Lead in a pregnant woman's body can harm the unborn baby. Small children are the most easily poisoned because very small amounts of lead can affect them and they absorb lead more readily than adults. Children spend most of their time close to the floor and put everything in their mouths so that a few tiny particles of lead can be enough to poison a child. 

How can you tell if someone is lead poisoned?
Children may have no symptoms at all, or they may complain of a stomachache, have behavior problems, or be "unable to sit still” and may also have learning disabilities. The long-term effects of lead poisoning include; slowed growth, brain damage, damage to the kidneys and liver, and hearing loss. Serious lead poisoning in children can also produce violent behavior, indifference to adult authority and very short attention spans.

Adults may experience stomach pain, feel tired, have difficulty sleeping and thinking, or have muscle or joint pains. Signs of lead poisoning may not become noticeable until the blood level is dangerously high. The effects of lead poisoning, many of which are irreversible, include lowered I.Q., learning disabilities, hyperactivity and anemia.  The only way to know if lead poisoning exists is to have a blood lead test completed by a medical professional. 

Can lead poisoning be treated?
Lead poisoning can be treated but prevention is best. Once lead is in the body there may already be permanent damage. In mild cases of lead poisoning, the "treatment" is finding the lead source and making the home safe to prevent additional lead from being absorbed into the body. Eating foods that are rich in iron (meat, fish, eggs, beans and green vegetables) and calcium (milk and cheese) and avoiding fried foods, help to keep the body from absorbing more lead. In serious cases of lead poisoning a child or adult may need chelation therapy.

How does one prevent lead poisoning?
Although not completely curable, lead poisoning is completely preventable through education and environmental interventions (such as painting and replacing windows).

One can prevent lead poisoning by identifying where lead is located and learning how to live with it safely. A lead-safe house may contain lead but not pose a significant risk because the lead hazards have been addressed; however, continued maintenance is necessary to assure that new lead hazards do not occur. A common assumption is that lead poisoning most often occurs when children chew on paint chips but the greater problem is ingestion of the dust from deteriorated lead paint.

Why is lead poisoning a problem in the St. Louis area?
More than 70% of homes in St. Louis County were built before 1978, when the sale of lead-based paint was banned. Many of these homes contain interior and/or exterior lead paints.  During remodeling, the paint can be disturbed and turned into dangerous dust or chips.