Lead Hazards and Lead Poisoning

Lead gets into drinking water as it moves through lead or galvanized iron pipes and fittings, lead solder, and brass or chrome fixtures.

You cannot see, smell or taste lead. Testing is the only way to know if lead is in your drinking water.

Learn more about lead in drinking water and how to test for it
Learn more about testing for lead in school drinking and child care water

Small amounts of lead may occur naturally in soil. However, soil can become 
contaminated with lead in different ways:

• When lead paint peels and flakes off the outside of old buildings.
• From deposits left by automobile exhaust when leaded gasoline was 
  widely used.
• From industrial sources, such as lead battery manufacturing plants or 
  brass foundries.

Lead-contaminated soil can be brought into your home on shoes. It is also very easy for a child to swallow contaminated soil while playing outside. To prevent lead poisoning, leave your shoes at the door and don't let children play in bare soil.

Find out if there is lead in your soil

You may want to test for lead in areas of your yard where children play. Soil testing must be done by a certified lab. Contact us by phone at 802-863-7220 or 800-439-8550 (toll-free in Vermont) or by email at [email protected] for a list of certified labs.

Limit children's exposure to soil with a lead content greater than or equal to 41 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil (mg/kg or ppm), which is considered potentially hazardous. If you garden in an area with elevated lead levels, it may be best to only plant crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans or peas. These crops take up less lead than leafy vegetables or roots. Wash any produce thoroughly before eating, and contact the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener for more information.

Protect children from lead in soil

You can reduce your children’s exposure to lead in soil by:

• Keeping children from playing near the foundations of old houses. 
• Planting shrubs, bushes or grass in the contaminated area. 
• Building a covered sandbox and fill it with clean sand. Encourage children to 
  play in the sandbox instead of in the dirt. 
• Covering the contaminated soil with cement, thick mulch, gravel or another 
  material to create a protective barrier between the soil and your children. 
• Tilling the soil to dilute the lead concentration, then plant ground cover, grass 
  or shrubs. 
• Leaving shoes outside the home to avoid tracking contaminated soil inside. 
• Washing your children’s hands and face after outside play, especially before 
  eating or drinking.

Download the Lead in Your Yard fact sheet to learn more about preventing lead exposure in your yard.

If you work with lead, you are at risk of lead poisoning. You could also expose your family to lead by bringing it home on your shoes and work clothes. Job settings where you can be exposed to lead include:

• Brass, copper or lead foundries
• Demolition or welding older structures
• Thermal stripping or sanding old paint
• Welding old, painted medal
• Paint manufacturing
• Spray finishing
• Machine and grinding lead alloys
• Battery manufacturing
• Radiator repair
• Scrap metal handling or wire reclamation
• Lead soldering
• Indoor shooting ranges
• Ceramic glaze mixing
• Stained glass manufacture or repair

Follow safety requirements at your workplace and be sure to shower, wash your hair and change into clean clothes (including shoes) before leaving work. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Vermont OSHA have more information on occupational exposure to lead. 

You may need the Vermont Lead-Safe RRPM license if you perform work that disturbs paint and stain on pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.

Learn about adult lead poisoning
Prevent take-home lead exposure (OSHA)
Find out about how to prevent work-related lead exposure (CDC)

Many common hobbies and crafts use materials containing lead—such as car parts, stained glass, jewelry, pottery glazes, artists' paints, fishing sinkers, bullets and old maple sugaring equipment.

Learn more about how prevent lead exposure from your hobbies

Lead has been banned from house paint and lead content has been limited in children's products, but it still can be found in many common consumer and household products and in imported goods. Some examples include:

• Children's toys and toy jewelry
• Keys and keychains
• Inks and dyes used in fabrics and packaging
• Enamel bathtubs and sinks
• Imported vinyl miniblinds
• Glazed pottery, especially from China and Mexico
• Folk remedies and medicine (for example, Gaw Mo Dah)
• Imported cosmetics (for example, Kohl, Surma, Thanakha and Kajal)
• Candy from Mexico
• Imported food cans

Find more information about lead in consumer products
Find more information about lead in foods, cosmetics and medicines
Search for recalled products containing lead

Lead has been commonly used in many older household items and consumer goods — such as paint, furniture, jewelry, glassware and dishes, leaded crystal, brass, pewter, ceramics, tools, toys and other items.

Even in newer homes, Vermonters can be exposed to lead when they install salvaged building materials — such as doors, windows, sinks, bathtubs and plumbing fixtures. If you are unsure about the presence of lead, assume all vintage, antique and salvaged items contain lead. To live safely with older items, you should be aware of the health effects of lead and how to prevent lead exposure.

Safe practices

Follow these tips for working and living with vintage items:

• If you refinish or seal an item with peeling or chipping paint, follow safe practices for working with lead paint. 
• Be sure to test your water if you use salvaged faucets or fixtures for drinking or cooking, especially those made from brass or chrome.
• Unless you know dishware is lead-free, do not eat, drink or store foods or liquids in vintage dishware, imported ceramics or glazed pottery.
• Keep vintage items out of your child's reach and use lead-safe cleaning practices when cleaning them.

Live safely with vintage, antique and salvaged building materials

Clean in and around windows, baseboards, doors, stairways and floors. Be sure to clean high touch areas like windows and floors weekly. Follow these steps:

1. Wear gloves.
2. Use a spray bottle to reduce dust. Wash surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner and scrub well.
3. Use a new paper towel to clean each area. Do not use a cloth or sponge, which will only spread dust. Clean until the paper towel has no visible dirt.
4. Put paper towels and any paint chips in a plastic bag. Close the bag tightly and throw it out with the trash.
5. Wash your hands after cleaning.

Use a vacuum with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter to clean lead dust on floors. These filters can remove very fine particles from air. Be sure to look for a vacuum that meets the Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for 99.97% efficiency at dust filtraton. Many vacuum manufacturers say they use HEPA filters but do not actually meet the efficiency requirement. Regular household vacuums release small particles of lead into the air, which spreads lead dust around rather than removing it.

You can buy HEPA vacuums at most local stores that carry home appliances.

To clean hard surface floors:

• Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter before mopping or washing.
• Avoid sweeping, which moves lead dust around.
• Use a wet mop with disposable pads, like a Swiffer, and replace the pads frequently.
  • Regular mops can leave behind residue that contains lead. If you use a regular mop, take a last pass with a mop that uses disposable pads to make sure no residue is left.
• For smaller areas, use a spray bottle filled with cleaning solution and wipe the floor with paper towels. Throw the towels away in a plastic bag and close tightly.

To clean carpets:

• Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to clean carpeted surfaces. Use the corner tool in 
  corners, cracks of trim and edges of carpet.
•  Vacuum carpets very slowly. Allow the vacuum time to bring dust from the deepest 
  parts of the carpet.
•  Vacuum the room in one direction for the first pass. For a second pass, vacuum 
  across the first pass.