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ration. Discard damaged
or worn asbestos gloves, stove top pads, or ironing board
covers. Check with local health, environmental, or other
appropriate officials to find out about proper handling and
disposal procedures.
If asbestos material is more than slightly damaged, or if
you are going to make changes in your home that might disturb it,
repair or removal by a professional is needed. Before you have
your house remodeled, find out whether asbestos materials are
present.
When you need to remove or clean up asbestos, use a
professionally trained contractor.
Select a contractor only after careful discussion of the problems
in your home and the steps the contractor will take to clean up
or remove them. Consider the option of sealing off the materials
instead of removing them.
Call EPA s TSCA assistance line (2025541404) to find out
whether your state has a training and certification program for
asbestos removal contractors and for information on EPA s
asbestos programs.
LEAD
Lead has long been recognized as a harmful environmental
pollutant. In late 1991, the Secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services called lead the number one
environmental threat to the health of children in the United
States. There are many ways in which humans are exposed to lead:
through air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil,
deteriorating paint, and dust. Airborne lead enters the body when
an individual breathes or swallows lead particles or dust once it
has settled. Before it was known how harmful lead could be, it
was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other
products.
Old lead based paint is the most significant source of lead
exposure in the U.S. today. Harmful exposures to lead can be
created when lead based paint is improperly removed from surfaces
by dry scraping, sanding, or open flame burning. High
concentrations of airborne lead particles in homes can also
result from lead dust from outdoor sources, including
contaminated soil tracked inside, and use of lead in certain
indoor activities such as soldering and stained glass making.
Health Effects of Exposure to Lead
Lead affects practically all systems within the body. At high
levels it can cause convulsions, coma, and even death. Lower
levels of lead can adversely affect the brain, central nervous
system, blood cells, and kidneys.
The effects of lead exposure on fetuses and young children
can be severe. They include delays in physical and mental
development, lower IQ levels, shortened attention spans, and
increased behavioral problems. Fetuses, infants, and children
are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults since lead is
more easily absorbed into growing bodies, and the tissues of
small children are more sensitive to the damaging effects of
lead. Children may have higher exposures since they are more
likely to get lead dust on their hands and then put their fingers
or other lead contaminated objects into their mouths.
Get your child tested for lead exposure. To find out where to do
this, call your doctor or local health clinic. For more
information on health effects, get a copy of the Centers for
Disease Control s, Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children
(October 1991).
Ways to Reduce Exposure to Lead
Keep areas where children play as dust free and clean as
possible.
Mop floors and wipe window ledges and chewable surfaces such as
cribs with a solution of powdered automatic dishwasher detergent
in warm water. (Dishwasher detergents are recommended because of
their high content of phosphate.) Most multipurpose cleaners
will not remove lead in ordinary dust. Wash toys and stuffed
animals regularly. Make sure that children wash their hands
before meals, nap time, and bedtime.
Reduce the risk from lead based paint.
Most homes built before 1960 contain heavily leaded paint. Some
homes built as recently as 1978 may also
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