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Is the Company You're Hiring Lead Paint Certified?

Jul 13, 2015

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According to the Hazardous Materials Assessment, Inc. of San Leandro, CA, lead paint has been used since 6500 B.C. during the Roman Empire. It has been used to paint everything from toys, and household appliances, to pillars of ancient cities. Fast forward about 8,000 years, and as it turns out, lead paint isn’t exactly the safest form of paint you should be using in your home. Now the question i’m sure you’re asking is, “how does this affect me?”. The answer to that question can simply be put- if your home was built prior to the year 1978, then you and your family are at risk for being exposed to lead poisoning.

So what is it about lead paint that makes it so toxic? Lead paint was banned in the 1960’s, for having contained high amounts of lead in it. Although the lead in the paint made the color pop a bit more, it was found that due to the process of sanding, and scraping when repainting a house, the disturbance in the paint caused dust to get into the lungs of those who were working there, as well as those who lived in the home. According to The Environmental Protection Agency, lead can have effects on almost every organ in the body. It can cause anemia, and hearing problems in children, and even decreased kidney function in adults.

Now that you know the dangers of what lead paint can do, you need to ask yourself, “what can I do to fix this problem?”. The first thing you can do is to find out what year your home was built. If your home was built prior to the year 1978, then you most likely have lead paint somewhere in your home. If you’re thinking of repainting your home, either interior or exterior, make sure that you use a painting company who is lead paint certified. There difference between a company who is lead paint certified, to one who isn’t, is that the company who isn’t lead paint certified, did not go through a formal training process to know how to carefully paint, to properly prep out a home that has lead paint, and to do the necessary containment procedures for a home with lead paint.

So before you decide to repaint your home, make sure to ask prospective painting companies if they are lead paint certified.

Sources:

“EPA.” Learn about Lead. United States Environmental Protection Agency, 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 02 July 2015. http://www2.epa.gov/lead/learn-about-lead#effects

“Lead – General Information.” Lead – General Information. Hazardous Materials Assessment Inc., n.d. Web. 02 July 2015. http://www.asbestos.org/Lead%20General%20Information.html

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