ABA Family Legal Guide

Home Ownership

Property Insurance and Other Protections

Environmental Issues

What should be done about lead paint?

Lead-based paint was applied to about two-thirds of the houses built before 1940 and a third of those built between 1940 and 1960, according to the EPA. Lead paint tastes sweet, so children have been poisoned from chewing on flakes of paint. There is also a potential danger from lead dust that is stirred up when lead-based paint on woodwork is scraped, sanded, or heated with an open flame stripper. Then it settles in fibers and fabric and gets stirred up again by normal cleaning.

The only accurate way to tell whether your house has lead-based paint is to remove a sample and have it tested in a qualified laboratory. Contact a local, county, or state health or environmental department about where to find one.

If lead-based paint is in good condition and there is no possibility that it will be nibbled on by children, it's best to leave it alone. Otherwise, you can cover it with wallpaper or some other building material or completely replace the woodwork. Removing lead paint properly and safely is a time-consuming and expensive process that requires everyone else to leave the house during removal and cleanup.

If the house was painted on the outside before 1950, the surrounding soil is probably contaminated with lead. Don't leave patches of bare soil, and clean your floors and windowsills regularly with wet rags and mops. Make sure everyone in the family washes their hands frequently.