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Look Out: The Walls Can Be a Hazard

Even though paint containing lead has been against the law for a over 30 years, it is still a very genuine issue for both homeowners and real estate agents. Lead was used as a paint additive for nearly 125 years before it was associated with serious illness in about 1978. That year, the use of lead in paint would no longer be allowed. Since any home built before 1978 could have the hazard of lead-based paint, the huge size of the problem of existing homes made it take a very long time to get into law. In the early 1990s, the Housing and Community Development Act established a legal requirement that a seller was required to make a formal disclosure of existing lead-based paint hazards to the buyer in order to complete the sale.

The hazard is lead poisoning. Young children under six years old have the highest risk of developing lead poisoning from lead paint because their actively growing bodies take in many of the mineral substances that they are exposed to, regardless of whether it is something needed calcium or very dangerous lead. High levels of lead in the body can lead to brain and vital organ damage, behavioral problems, hearing difficulties, and can seriously damage the nervous system. These problems can occur in both adults and children, but of course they are a more serious risk for children.

Any home built earlier than 1978 that has cracked, peeling, or chipping paint should be considered a potential hazard. It should be removed as a high priority. If paint containing lead was used around door or window frames in the home, the process of opening and closing these items may be generating a surprisingly large amount of dust that contains lead. This dust is a hazardous material and can be almost impossible to get rid of. Sweeping, vacuuming, and dusting can cause it to get back into the air and it just gets stirred up more whenever you touch it.

Are You at Risk?

In order to discover whether or not your home has lead paint, if your home was built prior to 1978, the best course to take is to get a paint inspection conducted by a professional. That will let the homeowner know the status of the lead content of every painted surface in the home and will uncover any areas or sources of lead danger.

Although there are kits that individual homeowners can buy test themselves, the EPA recommends an inspection by an experienced to find any dangerous areas that may be overlooked by the untrained eye.

Article presented by Automated Homefinder, the Colorado real estate experts.