Lead Is A Toxic Substance To People
Lead used to be used in everything from paint to children's toys to gasoline. However, it has now phased out of almost everything because it is toxic and can cause serious neurological and physical problems in a person, especially children. Those problems can include stunted growth, low IQ, hearing loss, and developmental delays. In general, lead poisoning builds up slowly, so it's hard to see an immediate change.
Sources of Lead
There are several places where you and your child can get accidental lead exposure, many of them around your house. They can include things like peeling paint or paint dust. Prior to 1978, paint contained lead. That's the year federal government banned lead in residential paints across all 50 states, although some states had banned it prior to 1978. If your house was built prior to 1978, there is a better than good chance that you have several layers of lead paint down under the newer layers of paint. If any of the paint peels or there is dust associated with it, lead can get into your bodies. Lead can get in through inhalation and through contact with the skin so that it gets carried to the mouth, nose or eyes.
Lead dust can also be found outside in the dirt or in the yard that your children are playing in.
Treatment for Lead Exposure
If you and your children have been tested by a reliable medical professional and you have been diagnosed with lead exposure, you want to get treated as soon as possible. If you or your child have a severe level of lead exposure, you may have to go through a treatment called chelation. This treatment works by giving you a medication that binds with the iron in your system so that you can excrete it out in your urine. However, the best treatment is a preventative one. And that means that you need to work on getting rid of the lead.
Lead Abatement
Lead abatement isn't anything that you should try on your own. You will need to hire someone to come in and do it for you. Your homeowner's insurance may help to defray the cost. The first thing that the professionals are going to do is to take readings in various places in and around your home. That way they know where the lead is. They will isolate that area by hanging a series of tarps in the area. They will also change into and out of protective suits in that area so that they aren't dragging lead dust around your house. You may want to go stay with friends or at a hotel while they are working on your house, just so you aren't in their way and they aren't in your way.
Lead can cause serious problems with it comes to your health. Getting rid of it is the best thing you can do. For more information, talk to a professional like IRS Environmental.