Removing Lead When Remodeling Your Home

Ken Brewer of Brewer Contracting in Racine, Wisconsin http://www.brewercontracting.com explains why remodeling done to any house built before 1978 should be done by a certified lead removal contractor. Lead poisoning is a major contributor to children's developmental issues, possibly affecting their IQ.

According to the EPA, http://www.epa.gov/iaq/homes/hip-lead.html ,

"Lead has long been recognized as a harmful environmental pollutant. In late 1991, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services called lead the "number one environmental threat to the health of children in the United States." There are many ways in which humans are exposed to lead: through air, drinking water, food, contaminated soil, deteriorating paint, and dust. Airborne lead enters the body when an individual breathes or swallows lead particles or dust once it has settled. Before it was known how harmful lead could be, it was used in paint, gasoline, water pipes, and many other products.

Old lead-based paint is the most significant source of lead exposure in the U.S. today. Most homes built before 1960 contain heavily leaded paint. Some homes built as recently as 1978 may also contain lead paint. This paint could be on window frames, walls, the outside of homes, or other surfaces. Harmful exposures to lead can be created when lead-based paint is improperly removed from surfaces by dry scraping, sanding, or open-flame burning. High concentrations of airborne lead particles in homes can also result from lead dust from outdoor sources, including contaminated soil tracked inside, and use of lead in certain indoor activities such as soldering and stained-glass making.
Lead affects practically all systems within the body. At high levels it can cause convulsions, coma, and even death. Lower levels of lead can adversely affect the brain, central nervous system, blood cells, and kidneys.

The effects of lead exposure on fetuses and young children can be severe. They include delays in physical and mental development, lower IQ levels, shortened attention spans, and increased behavioral problems. Fetuses, infants, and children are more vulnerable to lead exposure than adults since lead is more easily absorbed into growing bodies, and the tissues of small children are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead. Children may have higher exposures since they are more likely to get lead dust on their hands and then put their fingers or other lead-contaminated objects into their mouths."

Ken Brewer has been certified by the State of Wisconsin as an approved contractor, having attended the necessary certification process. He welcomes any questions you may have about lead-safe remodeling.

Brewer Contracting
262-930-2739
Serving Racine and Kenosha Counties in Wisconsin
and Lake County in Illinois

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• Lead renovation
• lead poisoning
• lead abatement
• lead-safe construction
• removing lead paint
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• home remodeling
• lead poisoning prevention
• lead base paint
• Racine
• Milwaukee
• Wisconsin
• Lake County
• Illinois
• home improvement