Most people know that lead in paint is hazardous to children. It can cause severe anemia and permanent brain damage, according to Neil Gendel, project director of Consumer Action's Lead Poisoning Prevention Project in San Francisco.

 

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What many don't realize, however, is that children's bodies can harbor dangerous levels of lead without their ever gnawing on a single paint chip.

"Get rid of that picture in your mind of a child pulling paint chips off the window from his crib,'' says Jim Wheaton, president of the Environmental Law Foundation in Oakland, which does legal work to protect people from toxins. "The problem is good old-fashioned dust.''

Lead dust is the most common cause of lead poisoning among children, according to the law foundation. The dust results from the normal friction of opening and closing drawers, doors, windows and door frames coated with leaded paint. Tiny fragments can fly into the air and later settle on the floor — well within the reach of tiny hands and mouths.

Lead dust and chips can also be found outside the home, with the heaviest concentrations within three feet of a house's exterior, according to the law foundation. This is usually due to the peeling and chipping of exterior lead-based paint or lead dust released by recent renovations or repainting.

About 75 percent of all homes built before 1980 contain some lead paint, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Before it was banned in 1978, leaded paint was considered top quality and the easiest to spread.

Although lead can also harm older children and adults, the threat is worst for children under 6, and for fetuses exposed to lead through their mother's bloodstream, according to a Consumer Reports study. Children's bodies are "like a sponge,'' says Gendel of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Project. A young child's growing body absorbs five times more than that of an adult.

Despite lead paint's potential for harm, like asbestos, we can live with it. Many experts now believe that controlling the hazard is a far better solution than removing the paint altogether.

"I think the message in our report when it comes to lead paint is 'Don't panic, live with it and know it's there,' '' says Edward Groth of Consumer Reports. "Instead, think of ways to intervene.''

The best defense is a good offense, says Gendel.

Good options include covering the area with wallpaper, paneling or new lead-free paint. Once lead-painted surfaces are covered, they are generally considered safe unless they are exposed, scraped or start to chip or peel.

If you have small children, you'll need to do a bit more to keep them safe. Wash a child's hands, face and toys frequently, mop hard surface floors, windowsills and baseboards at least once a week (don't use the mop for anything else), and load your children's diet with iron-rich foods, including lean meats, beans, spinach, tuna, eggs and greens. Iron helps block some absorption of lead.

Outside, plant grass or other ground cover as a barrier between your children and lead in the soil, from chipping, peeling exterior paint or from car exhaust residue that settled on and remains on the ground from the days when leaded gasoline was sold.

Above all, suggests Gendel, have children in high-risk situations tested at age six months. And all children living in communities containing older homes should be tested at age one or two.

And if you live in or plan to buy a pre-1978 home, consider hiring a trained professional to do an assessment.