lead contamination Blogs

Each year in the United States, there are 310,000 children from 1-5 years old who have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, that can affect a child’s developing brain, according to Kids Health.

Lead acts as a poison, once it enters the child’s body. Exposure to high levels of lead over a short time can result in acute toxicity, according to Kids Health. What happens when lead enters the body is that it gets absorbed into the child’s system and distributed throughout the body, and can cause damage wherever it ends up, said Kids Health.

Lead can damage red blood cells and affect their ability to carry oxygen to the heart, brains, and tissues. Lead also ends up in the children’s bones, which can affect their ability to grow healthy and strong, Kids Health recommendations:

While pregnant, women should avoid some household chemicals such as paint, paint thinners, oven cleaners, varnish removers, and carpet cleaners.
Have your child’s blood tested for lead poisoning.
Check out your home’s plumbing (before 1970).
Let the tap run for a minute before drinking water.
Keep the home clean by using wet wipes to clean all surfaces and windows and windowsills.
Regularly wash your child’s hands and faces and toys with wet cloths.
Make sure children eat nutritious meals on a regular basis and have enough iron and calcium in their diet, which makes it harder for lead to be absorbed.
Keep children away from busy roads and under bridges and in large areas of dirt—let them play in a sandbox.
Don’t smoke—cigarette smoke contains small amounts of lead.

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues regarding defective products.  In recent years, many products being produced overseas without safety standards overseen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, have been found to be contaminated by lead and are unsafe.  This had led to many recalls and also a new law enacted by Congress to deal with this problem.  A recent article in the Boston Globe indicates that this new law is causing compliance problems for thrift stores and second-hand stores,

According to the article, stores such as Goodwill have had to stop selling children’s clothing, which is cutting off an important source of cheap clothing for families struggling with the recession.   The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which took effect Feb. 10, prohibits all shops from selling children’s products that contain too much lead or potentially harmful chemicals.  Congress passed the law in response to a series of recalls of toys and jewelry that had high lead content and were linked to several child deaths and illnesses. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the law was implemented because of concern about lead contamination in metal zippers and snaps, screen printing, rhinestones, and other embellishments on clothing, as well as in children’s toys and jewelry and furniture.