Lead Hazards and Lead Poisoning | Vermont Department of Health

Lead Hazards and Lead Poisoning | Vermont Department of Health
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Lead Hazards and Lead Poisoning
Healthy Homes
Carbon Monoxide
Cleaning Safely
Financial Assistance
Home Renovations and Your Health
Indoor Air Quality
Lead Hazards and Lead Poisoning
Mold
Pests and Bed Bugs
Radon
Safe Home Environment
Lead Hazards in Your Home
Lead poisoning is a serious but
preventable
health problem. Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious and permanent health problems, especially for
children
and
people who are pregnant
Lead poisoning can be prevented
by knowing what hazards to look for.
Translated information in:
العربية (Arabic)
नेपाली (Nepali)
Soomaali (Somali)
Important Links
Lead Poisoning Prevention Information for Parents and Caregivers
Lead Poisoning Prevention Information for Health Care Professionals
Consumer Product Safety Commission Recalls
How to Hire a Lead-Safe RRPM Contractor
Lead-Based Paint in Housing
Dust from lead-based paint is the major source of lead poisoning among children. Lead was commonly used in house paint until 1978, and many Vermont homes were built before then.
Lead-based paint includes any paint, coating, stain or seal made before 1978. When it chips, peels or is disturbed, it can create harmful lead dust. Even if an older home has been repainted, lead dust can still be created from the original paint, especially when doors and windows are opened and closed.
People can breathe in or swallow lead dust, which can cause lead poisoning. Young children are most at risk because lead dust clings to their hands, toys, surfaces and other objects they put in their mouths. If not done safely, children, pregnant people and adults can be exposed to lead dust during renovation or home repair projects.
You can send paint samples to a certified lab, or have a lead risk assessor use an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer to confirm if your home has lead-based paint. However, if your home was built before 1978, assume it has lead-based paint, and take steps to protect your family:
Clean regularly using
lead-safe practices
Do
renovations and repairs
safely. Watch the
Lead Poisoning Prevention Training for Vermont Home Visitors video
for helpful information about renovations and the Vermont Lead Law.
If you rent your home, learn
your rights and your landlord's responsibilities
to make lead-safe repairs.
Other Lead Hazards
Lead in drinking water
Lead gets into drinking water as it moves through lead or galvanized iron pipes and fittings, lead solder, and brass or chrome fixtures.
You cannot see, smell or taste lead. Testing is the only way to know if lead is in your drinking water.
Learn more about lead in drinking water and how to test for it
Learn more about testing for lead in school drinking and child care water
Lead in soil
Small amounts of lead may occur naturally in soil. However, soil can become
contaminated with lead in different ways:
When lead paint peels and flakes off the outside of old buildings.
From deposits left by automobile exhaust when leaded gasoline was
widely used.
From industrial sources, such as lead battery manufacturing plants or
brass foundries.
Lead-contaminated soil can be brought into your home on shoes. It is also very easy for a child to swallow contaminated soil while playing outside. To prevent lead poisoning, leave your shoes at the door and don't let children play in bare soil.
Find out if there is lead in your soil
You may want to test for lead in areas of your yard where children play. Soil testing must be done by a certified lab. Contact us by phone at 802-863-7220 or 800-439-8550 (toll-free in Vermont) or by email at
[email protected]
for a list of certified labs.
Limit children's exposure to soil with a lead content greater than or equal to 41 milligrams of lead per kilogram of soil (mg/kg or ppm), which is considered potentially hazardous. If you garden in an area with elevated lead levels, it may be best to only plant crops like tomatoes, peppers, beans or peas. These crops take up less lead than leafy vegetables or roots. Wash any produce thoroughly before eating, and contact the
University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener
for more information.
Protect children from lead in soil
You can reduce your children’s exposure to lead in soil by:
Keeping children from playing near the foundations of old houses.
Planting shrubs, bushes or grass in the contaminated area.
Building a covered sandbox and fill it with clean sand. Encourage children to
play in the sandbox instead of in the dirt.
Covering the contaminated soil with cement, thick mulch, gravel or another
material to create a protective barrier between the soil and your children.
Tilling the soil to dilute the lead concentration, then plant ground cover, grass
or shrubs.
Leaving shoes outside the home to avoid tracking contaminated soil inside.
Washing your children’s hands and face after outside play, especially before
eating or drinking.
Lead on the job
If you work with lead, you are at risk of lead poisoning. You could also expose your family to lead by bringing it home on your shoes and work clothes. Job settings where you can be exposed to lead include:
Brass, copper or lead foundries
Demolition or welding older structures
Thermal stripping or sanding old paint
Welding old, painted medal
Paint manufacturing
Spray finishing
Machine and grinding lead alloys
Battery manufacturing
Radiator repair
Scrap metal handling or wire reclamation
Lead soldering
Indoor shooting ranges
Ceramic glaze mixing
Stained glass manufacture or repair
Follow safety requirements at your workplace and be sure to shower, wash your hair and change into clean clothes (including shoes) before leaving work. The
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
and
Vermont OSHA
have more information on occupational exposure to lead.
You may need the
Vermont Lead-Safe RRPM license
if you perform work that disturbs paint and stain on pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities.
Learn about adult lead poisoning
Prevent take-home lead exposure (OSHA)
Find out about how to prevent work-related lead exposure (CDC)
Lead in hobbies and crafts
Many common hobbies and crafts use materials containing lead—such as car parts, stained glass, jewelry, pottery glazes, artists' paints, fishing sinkers, bullets and old maple sugaring equipment.
Learn more about how prevent lead exposure from your hobbies
Lead in consumer products and imported goods
Lead has been banned from house paint and lead content has been limited in children's products, but it still can be found in many common consumer and household products and in imported goods. Some examples include:
Children's toys and toy jewelry
Keys and keychains
Inks and dyes used in fabrics and packaging
Enamel bathtubs and sinks
Imported vinyl miniblinds
Glazed pottery, especially from China and Mexico
Folk remedies and medicine (for example, Gaw Mo Dah)
Imported cosmetics (for example, Kohl, Surma
Thanakha and Kajal)
Candy from Mexico
Imported food cans
Find more information about lead in
consumer products
Find more information about lead in
foods, cosmetics and medicines
Search for recalled products containing lead
Lead in vintage, antique and salvaged items
Lead has been commonly used in many older household items and consumer goods — such as paint, furniture, jewelry, glassware and dishes, leaded crystal, brass, pewter, ceramics, tools, toys and other items.
Even in newer homes, Vermonters can be exposed to lead when they install salvaged building materials — such as doors, windows, sinks, bathtubs and plumbing fixtures. If you are unsure about the presence of lead, assume all vintage, antique and salvaged items contain lead. To live safely with older items, you should be aware of the health effects of lead and how to prevent lead exposure.
Safe practices
Follow these tips for working and living with vintage items:
If you
refinish or seal
an item with peeling or chipping paint,
follow safe practices for working with lead paint
Be sure to
test your water
if you use
salvaged faucets or fixtures
for drinking or cooking, especially those made from brass or chrome.
Unless you know
dishware
is lead-free, do not eat, drink or store foods or liquids in vintage dishware, imported ceramics or glazed pottery.
Keep vintage items out of your child's reach and use
lead-safe cleaning practices
when cleaning them.
Live safely with vintage, antique and salvaged building materials
Lead-Safe Cleaning
Swallowing lead dust that is on hands, toys or other objects is the most common way that children are exposed to lead. Keeping your home free of lead dust can help prevent lead poisoning. Make sure children and anyone who is pregnant do not enter the area you are cleaning in.
How to clean
Clean in and around windows, baseboards, doors, stairways and floors. Be sure to clean high touch areas like windows and floors weekly. Follow these steps:
Wear gloves.
Use a spray bottle to reduce dust. Wash surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner and scrub well.
Use a new paper towel to clean each area. Do not use a cloth or sponge, which will only spread dust. Clean until the paper towel has no visible dirt.
Put paper towels and any paint chips in a plastic bag. Close the bag tightly and throw it out with the trash.
Wash your hands after cleaning.
Cleaning floors
Use a vacuum with a
High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter
to clean lead dust on floors. These filters can remove very fine particles from air. Be sure to look for a vacuum that meets the Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for 99.97% efficiency at dust filtraton. Many vacuum manufacturers say they use HEPA filters but do not actually meet the efficiency requirement. Regular household vacuums release small particles of lead into the air, which spreads lead dust around rather than removing it.
You can buy HEPA vacuums at most local stores that carry home appliances.
To clean
hard surface floors:
Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter before mopping or washing.
Avoid sweeping, which moves lead dust around.
Use a wet mop with disposable pads, like a Swiffer, and replace the pads frequently.
Regular mops can leave behind residue that contains lead. If you use a regular mop, take a last pass with a mop that uses disposable pads to make sure no residue is left.
For smaller areas, use a spray bottle filled with cleaning solution and wipe the floor with paper towels. Throw the towels away in a plastic bag and close tightly.
To clean
carpets:
Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to clean carpeted surfaces. Use the corner tool in
corners, cracks of trim and edges of carpet.
Vacuum carpets very slowly. Allow the vacuum time to bring dust from the deepest
parts of the carpet.
Vacuum the room in one direction for the first pass. For a second pass, vacuum
across the first pass.
Lead Information for refugees and New Americans
Translated Information in:
العربية (Arabic)
नेपाली (Nepali)
Soomaali (Somali)
You and your children may have come in contact with lead before coming to the United States. Lead is found in common products — such as amulets, trinkets, pottery and candy. It can also be in cosmetics like Thanakha, Surma, Kajal and Kohl, and in traditional remedies like Gaw Mo Dah. If you brought these items into the United States or receive them from friends or family, you can ask the Health Department if they are safe.
The Health Department recommends every child between six months and 16 years old get tested for lead when coming to the United States. One more test should be done three to six months later. In addition, children need to be tested for lead at ages 1 and 2. Your health care provider can test you or your family for lead or can tell you where to get one.
Resources and More Information
Financial Assistance for a Healthier Home
Burlington (and Winooski) Lead Program
Vermont Housing Conservation Board
New England Lead Coordinating Committee
Windham County Lead Hazard Capacity Building Program
Topics:
Child Health and Safety
Healthy Homes
Lead Poisoning
April 7, 2026