Renovate the Right Way
Do you have plans to renovate your home this summer? If you have an older home, the Cayuga County Health Department has some tips for your safety. Projects that disturb lead-based paint can create dust and endanger you and your family. Lead-based paint was used in millions of homes until it was banned in 1978. If your home was built before then, here are some facts you should know:
• Lead can affect a child’s brain and developing nervous system, causing reduced IQ and learning disabilities. Children younger than 6 are most at risk.
• Lead exposure can cause behavioral problems.
• Lead in dust is the most common way people are exposed to lead. Lead dust comes from deteriorating lead-based paint and may be difficult to see. You can get lead in your body by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.
• Children who seem healthy can have high levels of lead in their bodies.
These same facts apply to child care facilities or any building built before 1978. If renovation is taking place in your day care center or your home, the work areas should not be accessible while the work is being done and the area should be contained so that dust and debris cannot escape the work area. You may even want to move out of your home temporarily while all or part of the work is being done.
Federal law requires contractors – who are hired for renovations, repairs and painting in homes, child care centers and schools built before 1978 that disturb painted surfaces – to be certified and follow specific practices to prevent lead contamination. Landlords who do renovations, repairs and painting must also be certified.
If you suspect that your house has lead hazards, here are some important things you can do to protect your family:
• If you rent, call the landlord immediately to report peeling or chipping paint.
• Regularly wet clean floors, windowsills and other surfaces with a general all-purpose cleaner.
• Wash children’s hands, bottles, pacifiers and toys often.
• Keep children away from chipping paint and prevent destructive behaviors like chewing on painted surfaces.
• Make sure children eat a healthy, nutritious diet that provides some protection from the effects of lead.
• Talk to your pediatrician about having your children tested for lead poisoning.
• Always hire certified contractors for work that will disrupt paint in housing or child-occupied facilities built before 1978, or get properly trained and certified yourself. You can search for a certified firm at http://cfpub.epa.gov/flpp/searchrrp_firm.htm.
• Call the health department at 253-1405 for advice on reducing and eliminating exposures to lead inside and outside your home.
Remember, lead can also be dangerous for adults. Lead exposure can cause reproductive problems for men and women, high blood pressure and hypertension, nerve disorders, memory and concentration problems, and muscle and joint pain.
For more information about the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP), visit the Environmental Protection Agency website.
For more information about renovating right and about the dangers of lead exposure to children and adults, call the Cayuga County Health Department at 253-1560.
Elane Daly is director of health and human services for Cayuga County. She can be reached at 253-1560 or cchealth@dfa.state.ny.us
Read more: http://auburnpub.com/lifestyles/article_7c0e3354-b713-11e0-b644-001cc4c03286.html#ixzz1TGuNJMGM