A little story about lead

I admit, I have never been too concerned about lead. Not that I dispute the health effects of exposure, but because I never thought I had reason to be concerned for myself or my son. We live in a post 1978 condo so I don’t worry about lead paint in our home and that was the only thing that I thought was a concern. Well, lead has been rearing its toxic head in my life in the past couple weeks and I’m taking it as a sign. Let me share . . .

Seems simple enough, I bought a new iron the other day. I don’t iron often but my old iron was leaking. Since I don’t iron much, I bought an economical replacement. I mean, my last one was a hand-me-down and it lasted years. I get the $7.00 iron home and as I’m plugging it in, I notice a tag attached to the cord which said, “The power cord on this product contains lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Wash hands after handling.” What! I just bought a product with lead in it! What happens if I don’t wash my hands soon enough?

How could they! I was so angry, at first. But then I thought of all the other things I have bought over the years. How many of those products contained lead? I will never know. Lead has been found in so many things - children’s toys, furniture, electronics, cosmetics, glazed ceramic items, pewter, stained glass, jewelry, to name a few. I thought again of that tag on the iron and I was almost happy that the company had thought it was important to warn me. Most companies don’t disclose this. Usually we are lucky to hear about product recalls for lead content from the nightly news and I’m sure there are more we don’t know about.

Well, what can lead exposure really do to you? Plenty. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, lead exposure in adults can cause high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems, and fertility problems for men and women. Children are more susceptible because they’re smaller and the toxin concentrates in their little bodies. Plus, they put more things in their mouths. As their systems are growing, exposure can cause the following development problems: nervous system and kidney damage, Attention Deficit Disorder, decreased intelligence, speech and behavior disorders, and decreased muscle and bone growth. Pregnant women are at even more risk not just for their health but also their unborn child. Lead passes through the mother’s system straight to the fetus where it has the potential to cause brain damage or death of the child. These are serious consequences that we should all avoid for ourselves and those around us.

My experience with the lead-laced iron follows on the heels of the new EPA Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) regulations. If you don’t know about this yet, this law requires any contractor who works on buildings built before 1978 (when lead paint was officially banned) to be properly trained on abating any lead paint that they disturb. At my 9 to 5 job where I am a property manager, we are busy trying to verify that our contractors have obtained the RRP certification. Many of our contractors are in compliance but some still have not provided certificates. I assume that these businesses are non-compliant and I don’t hire them. But they are still working for someone. Not only does this mean we are all still getting exposed, but the fine for getting caught is $32,500 per instance per day to the contractor. A costly mistake for everyone.

So what are you to do? Fortunately, there are resources that can help with identifying lead hazards. The RRP regulations are discussed in detail on the EPA site but I found a user-friendly guide that gives a good overview at http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/lead/pubs/sbcomplianceguide.pdf. Always ask your contractor for a copy of their lead certification. If they can’t show you a copy, call someone else. Talk to your neighbors who are renovating to make sure they know about the regulations. The Washington Toxics Coalition (http://watoxics.org/) does a lot of work on lead exposure in consumer products and offer many articles on the subject. In the past they have even had events where you can bring your items in for testing. They don’t have an event scheduled at this time but keep checking back. Increasing your awareness of the issue will result in better consumer choices. And if you want more ideas, email me at Melissa@ecohomeconsults.com.

Are you asking yourself what I did with the iron? I took it back and declared the lead issue as the reason for my return. The clerk gave me the crazy eye. My sister gave me her spare iron, which should last me a few years. This one also has a tag on the cord warning me of mercury in the switch mechanism. Oh my.