The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a warning for people doing renovations on homes that may have some form of lead paint present. The interior walls of many homes built before 1978 were painted with lead-based paint at some point in time, creating a serious problem when renovations are done on those homes. During these renovations, paint may be removed from walls by sanding, scraping or some other method, creating dust. This dust, which may include particles of lead from older layers of paint, can enter the lungs and possibly cause lead poisoning if proper precautions are not taken. One investigation conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that almost 15 percent of elevated blood lead levels were the result of painting, repair and other home renovation activities.
When a child has even minimal levels of lead in their blood, serious problems can arise including learning, behavioral and attention difficulties. Warning signs of lead poisoning include headaches, confusion, stomachaches, vomiting, muscle weakness, seizures, anemia and/or loss of hair. With higher lead levels, a child can suffer permanent damage to the kidneys, bone marrow and brain, which may result in more serious learning disabilities, seizures, coma and possibly death. If your home was build before 1978 or may have lead paint present and you are planning to renovate or do work on your home, be sure to relocate anyone living in the home to a lead-free environment while the work is being conducted. If work is only being performed on certain areas of the home, make sure that those areas are sealed off from the rest of the house to ensure that no lead paint particles enter other areas. Also, if you believe that lead paint particles may have been inhaled or ingested during this type of work or for any other reason, it is best to have lead levels in the blood tested by a doctor to see if there is any risk of lead poisoning. Lead poisoning is serious and may not always be caused by home renovations. In many cases, negligent landlords allow lead paint to become exposed as a result of cracking or peeling paint, giving young children access to lead paint chips and dust. If your child has suffered lead poisoning as a result of the negligence of a landlord, contact the lead poison attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos, P.C., serving clients in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk. We offer complimentary case evaluations.
Call us toll-free 1-877-ASK4SAM and visit www.ask4sam.net
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