*
I second Steve’s opinions.
Make sure everyone working in the house while
sanding/stripping is going on wears at least a dual band
nuisance dust mask. I always wear HEPA/Fume cartridges when
burning off with torch or heat gun because the heat can
vaporize the lead into lead metal fumes, which only the
HEPA/Fume cartridges will stop. For most sanding/scraping,
I’ve read that the particle size is fairly large, so a
good/tight fitting dust mask will pick them out – but hey,
they’re your bones which will be carrying the lead, so why
take chances?
Concerning outside stripping – what kind of surface? In the
back of Fine Homebuilding, you sometimes see adds for
American Tools paint stripper. It’s a modified right angle
grinder with 3 patented carbide teeth that fit into a rotary
wheel. Not cheap, but you can sell it back to them at a
discount. Nice tool. I picked it up to sand off all the
lead paint from the cedar siding on my house. Works great.
You can control the stripping down to thousandths of inches.
Has a dust chute for attachment to a HEPA or other Vacuum
(shop vac with Goretex filter). That way, you can easily
contain all the lead waste. Strips paint off fast too.
For interior surfaces, you can consider spending the money
for Feins (I think Porter Cable has one too) HEPA shop vac
that attaches to their sander. That way, you can sand away
and pick up all the lead dust with a HEPA vac.
But please follow Steve’s advice about the Kiddies. No
Children to visit the site until after you’ve washed it down
twice with TSP. Lead abatement people usually do TSP,
rinse, TSP , final rinse to make sure they have picked it
all up. Believe it or not, most of the lead paint exposure
to children living in contaminated homes comes from doors
and windows, not peeling paint on walls. The abrasion of
the doors /windows moving in their openings releases fine
particles of lead dust that settle everywhere. Touching
surfaces with hands picks it up, and from there it’s a short
hop jump and skip to the mouth or on food.
It’s a very serious hazard to children, but less so to
adults. You can always get your blood level checked before
you start the job, then go for a blood test during and after
the job to check and see how well your procedures are
working. If you screw up and weigh more when you finish –
you can always go in for some chelation therapy, and write
us back as to how much better y
Replies
*
I'm a DIYer living in a 1932 plaster lined house. In anticipation of baby begain total redo of second floor, removing all plaster and most woodwork. As luck would have it babies lead check came out high (see "Lead in babies blood" archives). Lots of worry and premature disposal of carpets and other potentially tainted stuff. Lead to purchase of HEPA vacum and HEPA ductwork cleaning etc. Six months later second blood draw revealed a very low lead level, consistent with most residents of urban areas. Pediatrician said never seen such a rapid drop in lead levels. Later tests confirmed the lower reading. Perhaps lab mislabeled samples or results and someone else is unaware of their condition. If I had it to do over again I'd be a lot more careful, if for no other reason then peace of mind. Good luck on your project.
Bill
*Dear Larry H.:I would be interested in knowing, what HEPA vacuum and ductwork cleaning system?
*
Hi Y'all,
Thanks for all the comments.
Have found lots of information.
#1 is that doing nothing is better than doing most anything poorly.
There are lots of consultants and various types of testing available.
Lead was voluntarily reduced in residential paints by most manufacturers in 1950. Of course a lot of the then-current painting pros knew that the commercial paints that still had Lead were going to last longer and used them.
Simplest effort is regular cleaning with HEPA vac and careful washing.
Be careful washing paint with TSP - this can cause it to 'chalk' and make even more lead dust than before.
Carboline has a two-part polyurethane paint called Rustbond that is supposed to be good for encapsulating sound paint over metal and concrete.
May be good for walls and ceilings.
They reccomend a supplied-air respirator while applying it.
There are several other brands of covering paints.
Impact and abrasion areas like doors/door frames, windows/window frames and kitchen cabinets are often easiest to deal with by replacing.
Covering with Sheetrock is a good choice.
PeelAway stripper, the one with the fabric that goes over the stripper, looks like a good choice if you want to save the substrate. It is a low-toxicity formula.
There are many other stripper choices. Some claim to be Lead Paint specific.
Note that, if Lead paint is the basecoat, it may have been absorbed INTO wood.
After you strip paint, sanding may release MORE Lead.
A company called Somay makes a product, LeadSorb that is supposed to be a better final cleaner than TSP.
Sandblasting and other mechanical removal - definitely have supplied-air respirators, clean before, during and after.
Plastic curtain walls and HEPA vacs are a must.
Wear disposable coveralls.
Any dust or stripping material created is legally toxic waste and needs to be disposed of accordingly.
The FEIN HEPA vac looks like a good choice, is now available for less than $300 with the HEPA filter.
Outdoors, grass, plantings and heavy mulches can minimize exposure to Lead in the soil next to buildings that, over time, have already lost significant Lead dust.
Note, this information is just the tip of the iceberg.
Do your own checking and draw your own conclusions.
Lead is a fact of life. We cannot completely avoid it.
We do our best to minimize exposure and move on.
While you are at it, remember the possibility of Lead solder in plumbing, Asbestos and Radon.
Good health, Weogo
*
One of the saddest sights I see are buildings abandoned because they've "got lead." It is the responsibility of the remodeling industry to help maintain the old housing stock.
In addition to the EPA brochure (to be given to clients) and an NAHB brochure which outlines how to deal with OSHA, check the new HUD brochure at http://www.hud.gov/lea/LBPguide.pdf.
*
i had some one (dr./ friend who knows?)tell me that a child will not eat lead paint chips if they have enough vitamin C.
*
Pica, "lead paint eating", happens because it's sweet tasting. Has nothing to do with vitamin C.
*
Context is important.
Yes, lead is bad, but how about this: The average lead levels in people are down to under 10 mg/liter from a high of around 60 in the 70's. The main culprit was of course leaded gasoline fumes in the air.
I'm ordering a book called "Haunted Housing" that is about all the misinformation about toxics that is driving us from house and home. Research was funded by the CATO institute.
It's pretty sad that only 25% of our kids read at "proficient" levels and only 1% at advanced levels (relative to their grade). I don't think it has much to do with lead. We only use less than 10% of our brains after all. Low expectations yeild low results.
Steve
*The "eating" of lead paint chips is not the culprit. Kids may nibble on a window ledge, or door trim, etc... but they will not just break off a chunk of lead paint and eat it.The real problem is called "leaching". Lead tends to leach to the surface, and when this surface is touched, rubbed, etc... the lead comes off on your hand/tongue/arm/etc... Children then rub their nose, eat something without washing their hands, etc... There are several ways for them to absorb/ingest this lead. For adults, this is a problem, but not a whopper. Small amounts of lead in the body of an adult isn't all that bad...small amounts of lead in the body of a child is very, very bad. Lead will interfere with the growth of organs, cause brain tissue damage, and a myriad of other health problems for developing children.Most homes with lead based paint are still in very good shape, with no flaking or peeling of the paint. These are dangerous as well as the flaking ones, just not as bad. Once the paint starts flaking and peeling, the lead particles become airborn everytime someone touches, or disturbs the loose paint. You can go to http://www.pueblo.gov and get all the info on lead paint, lead abatement, copies of the booklets to give out to clients, etc... It's all there. This is the government storehouse for all of their publications, and they have all of them listed. James DuHamel
*
Hi Y'all,
In a couple of weeks I have to start a remodel, including, re-painting, on a concrete house with peeling paint on the inside and outside.
It was built in '43 so likely has lead paint.
House sat empty for the past five years, so much of it is peeling and can't simply be 'sealed in'.
What are simple, cost-effective ways of dealing with the lead?
All suggestions appreciated.
Thanks and good health, Weogo Reed
*Serious stuff, that's for sure. I would find a lead abatement contractor. I am scared to death of lead dust. - jb
*Hi Weogo,"I'm not a lead abatement professional but..."That disclaimer aside, the standard way painters that I've know who are certified in lead abatement deal with large exterior stripping like that is to tape a sheet of poly to the side of the building that extends 10-20 feet, depending how tall the building is, and dry scrape letting the chips fall where they may. Some pressure wash, but that really sends the stuff flying. The idea is to catch it in the plastic, roll it up and take it to the landfill. Other that that, wear a HEPA rated respirator.That said, you may just want to hire it out, depending on what they get for it where you are. The main thing is to keep kids away till it's all done and cleaned up. It only makes adults sick, not retarded. In kids it blocks the proper formation of brain cells. Adults on the other hand, are already on the down-slope when it comes to brain cells, so no harm, no foul. It just makes you anemic and impotent and gives you headaches.Clean up by washing with TSP. It binds the lead into insoluable salt compounds, making it less dangerous.Check your State's regulations to make sure you don't run afoul of anything. Also, don't forget to give the clients the federal government brochure on lead. Fines can hit the thousands of dollars if you don't.Have Fun,Steve
*Listen to Mr. blodgett!
*I second Steve's opinions.Make sure everyone working in the house while sanding/stripping is going on wears at least a dual band nuisance dust mask. I always wear HEPA/Fume cartridges when burning off with torch or heat gun because the heat can vaporize the lead into lead metal fumes, which only the HEPA/Fume cartridges will stop. For most sanding/scraping, I've read that the particle size is fairly large, so a good/tight fitting dust mask will pick them out - but hey, they're your bones which will be carrying the lead, so why take chances?Concerning outside stripping - what kind of surface? In the back of Fine Homebuilding, you sometimes see adds for American Tools paint stripper. It's a modified right angle grinder with 3 patented carbide teeth that fit into a rotary wheel. Not cheap, but you can sell it back to them at a discount. Nice tool. I picked it up to sand off all the lead paint from the cedar siding on my house. Works great. You can control the stripping down to thousandths of inches. Has a dust chute for attachment to a HEPA or other Vacuum (shop vac with Goretex filter). That way, you can easily contain all the lead waste. Strips paint off fast too.For interior surfaces, you can consider spending the money for Feins (I think Porter Cable has one too) HEPA shop vac that attaches to their sander. That way, you can sand away and pick up all the lead dust with a HEPA vac.But please follow Steve's advice about the Kiddies. No Children to visit the site until after you've washed it down twice with TSP. Lead abatement people usually do TSP, rinse, TSP , final rinse to make sure they have picked it all up. Believe it or not, most of the lead paint exposure to children living in contaminated homes comes from doors and windows, not peeling paint on walls. The abrasion of the doors /windows moving in their openings releases fine particles of lead dust that settle everywhere. Touching surfaces with hands picks it up, and from there it's a short hop jump and skip to the mouth or on food.It's a very serious hazard to children, but less so to adults. You can always get your blood level checked before you start the job, then go for a blood test during and after the job to check and see how well your procedures are working. If you screw up and weigh more when you finish - you can always go in for some chelation therapy, and write us back as to how much better y