Lead Paint Problem

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We have an old farm house, with old wallpaper. In removing the old wallpaper of course found the old plaster walls, which are painted over. Some of the paint came off with the wallpaper. But, most is still on the wall quite securely. My questions are- What should I use to wash the glue off the painted areas without harming the surrounding woodwork? Do I have to remove the old paint,if so how? We plan on painting after cleaning & patching. Thanks Everyone, Fred

-- fred in wi (sixuvusmeyers@aol.com), March 15, 2001

Answers

Get a test kit and see if the paint is lead. We were told by the State that lead is more of a problem if it is on a surface that moves ie:windows and floors. Our house was filled with lead and we removed all windows and doors{we stripped them} and got a product at home depot that is a paint that you cover lead with. Call around I can remember the name of it ,I will ask scott he may remember. I was also told to wash everything down w/ Spic and Span,it has a chemical that will pick up lead since lead is heavey its hard to wash away. Also the soil around your house may have it ,ours did. The old siding was painted and flacked off,to solve that problem we brought in a few inches of top soil and spread it around the house. We have small childern so it was more an issue for us then others. DO NOT call your county agency and give your name and address if you do want them showing up. They will come in and inspect your whole house and give you a list of hat must be done ,and it is pricey. I used my friends post office box and a fake name to get the info. If you need more help E-mail me. good luck

-- renee oneill{md.} (oneillsr@home.com), March 15, 2001.

I am an environmental professional and have dealt with lead paint issues on federal property over the years. Lead paint is a problem in older homes but one that is drastically blown out of proportion by EPA and HUD. Simply having lead in a home is not necessarily a problem if it is handled correctly.

Lead is of greatest concern when there are children in the home, when housekeeping (removing dust) is poor, or when renovations (scraping, sanding, etc) stir up a great deal of the paint, resulting in inhalation or absorption of the lead. Friction surfaces such as windowsills and doors often have lead dust on them and must be kept clean. If you've been overexposed, you will have a sort of sweet taste in your mouth (lead is sweet, that's why kids eat the dust) and your urine will smell a bit off. It is eventually filtered from your body, but very slowly. Overexposure in children sadly leads to nervous system problems and developmental problems.

That said, I would recommend that you go to the EPA and HUD website and download their literature. Do not call in regulatory agencies as they will play chicken little and tell you the sky is falling and recommend you hire a lead specialist at many thousands of dollars. (Their recommendations are based upon EPA regulations -- EPA doesn't want to assume liability in the event you get sick and must say this.)

Some tips during renovation: 1) Don't use heat guns -- they emit lead into the air and YOU WILL get overexposed. 2)Use a spray bottle and keep surfaces moist where you must sand or where dust will be generated. Spray down the wallpaper as you remove it. 3) Continuously wipe up dust with a wet paper towel and toss the rag into a plastic bag for the landfill. 3) Wear chemical resistant gloves when using strippers, etc., to avoid dermal (skin) absorption. 4) When you're done, seal the surface with a latex primer. You can spend extra money for the lead-seal stuff -- but this is really only a concern in schools, nurseries, etc (where even there it may be overkill if dust is kept under control) 5) In some cases, it's easier to simply replace old components that have lead on them (windows especially) than worry about the lead over the long term or trying to strip them (which is messy and involves hazardous waste issues). 6) Dispose of all of your waste in tightly sealed plastic bags and take to a lined landfill (where groundwater is collected and treated); this will help protect it from reaching the natural environment where it can also cause problems.

I lived in a 1900 bungalow with lead paint for many years with no problems. It's a matter of housekeeping and using common sense. A good friend of mine -- a hazardous waste specialist with two babies -- also lives in a turn-of-the-century home with no problems, although she is fanatical about dust control.

Hope this helps.

-- Michael Nuckols (nuckolsm@wildak.net), March 15, 2001.


If you look at property auction ads you will see a notice that if the building was built before 1978 it may contain lead paint. It usually also says the owners can neither confirm or deny whether or not it does. You have the right to have it checked before the sale. If you have it tested and it does have lead, HUD will require you to have it removed. And it has to be tested and the work done by a certified lead paint abatement company. You can not do it your self, this is on rental property. Once you have it tested and it has lead paint when you sell it you have to notify the new owner it has lead. If you don't you are liable for any health problems or any financial loss caused by lead paint. We had a number of rental houses and sold them in 1999. The local HUD office notified us of the changes in the laws on rental in 2000. Really glad we no longer had them. My advice is keep the surfaces all painted, no peeling paint. DO NOT HAVE THE HOUSE TESTED. Once you test it you have to tell potential owners you do know. This will probably blow any sale of the property. I personally don't intend to buy any more buildings of any type but if I was buying I would not consider anything with out testing. The rules will be getting stricter more every year and right now the cost of test and removing the lead here locally is from 20 to 35 thousand dollars. This effectivly making lots of older homes worthless. As to how serious the lead thing is, well look at me I have lived in lead painted houses for 60 years and I am , well that probably is not a good example. Just like owning a old gasoline station site, in the near future cleaning up such a site with lead paint will be cost prohibitive. I have a friend that went bankrupt because of gasoline contamited soil. Be careful when buying. He wasn't.

-- David (bluewaterfarm@mindspring.com), March 15, 2001.

Most older home have lead paint in them. You can get test kits to confirm. You may find that some areas have lots of lead other areas little. Exposure to lead can cause serious illness, even death. Hower having lead paint in the house doesnt kill you as some people would leave you to beleive. You must injest lead paint chips or inhale a large amount of dust to cause problems. People lived in lead painted houses for years and didnt have problem.

A couple of issue. If your working in an old house you should always have a filter mask on. lead or no lead the dust is a pain. Block off the area with plastic your working in and clean up afterwards.

Next you need to see what (if any) laws your state has regarding lead paint. The newengland states are very picky, not sure about WI.

If you have no small kids or anyone who would be chewing on the wood work then your may need to do very little, just paint over the exsisting paint. If you have lead around windows then stripping the paint and repairing might be worth while. Walls can just be repainted patch the holes with modern plaster and paint.

-- gary (gws@redbird.net), March 16, 2001.


Normal dust masks won't filter lead dust. The mask will catch large particles -- but these are caught and expelled by the body naturally before they reach the tissues of the lungs. Particles small enough not to be caught by your body naturally (i.e. to reach the alveoli) are also too small to be caught by a dust mask. To avoid inhaling particles, you need a specially fitted mask with an appropriately sized filter. To wear this, you need to have a medical screening, especially in regard to cardiopulmonary problems.

-- Michael Nuckols (nuckolsm@wildak.net), March 16, 2001.


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