7 Point Plan for the MANAGEMENT OF LEAD by Australian parents and carers:

Petrol  

Paint            Surfaces Hands Mouth Blood Bones & Teeth

Industry

How to prevent childhood lead poisoning by intervention at the seven points in the Lead Flow Chart:

Even though you may only have inquired about one aspect of lead poisoning prevention, we are providing information on numerous aspects of the problem, in the hope that you will find the holistic approach useful, and that you will realise how powerful you are personally in reducing the toxic chemical load on people (especially children) and the environment, now and in the future.

Point 1: Petrol Surfaces. Australia reduced the amount of lead in petrol in 1993 and phased out leaded petrol by 1^st January 2002 but stopping the flow of lead from petrol into the environment does nothing to reduce the historical lead contamination from petrol. Australia reduced the amount of lead in petrol in 1993 and phased out leaded petrol by 1^st January 2002 but stopping the flow of lead from petrol into the environment does nothing to reduce the historical lead contamination from petrol.

• Do not undertake servicing or dismantling of old cars on your property;
• Avoid homes or child-care within 10-20 m of major roads;
• Lead from petrol and other sources builds up in the ceiling dust in old houses and can be an ongoing source (through cracks, ceiling roses, etc) or sudden source (if the ceiling falls down or is demolished) of lead contamination of house dust. Leaded ceiling dust is just another reason (apart from leaded paint) that renovation is the most likely cause of childhood lead poisoning. See the NSW government factsheet "Lead Safe: Lead in Ceiling Dust". See the website of the Australian Dust Removalists Association (ADRA), www.adra.com.au for specialists in ceiling dust removal, in NSW. Do not attempt ceiling dust removal yourself.

Point 2: Paint Surfaces - to stop lead particles from paint getting onto surfaces that children might touch: - to stop lead particles from paint getting onto surfaces that children might touch:

• Test for lead in any pre-1970 deteriorated paint (see Point 4 for test procedures);
• Use barrier methods and consistent clean-up until safe removal can be organised;
• Negotiate a contract with a professional renovator with experience (preferably training) in lead paint removal to remove lead paint hazards, guaranteeing no dispersal of lead, and approved disposal of contaminated debris;
• Protect children, women of reproductive capacity and pets from renovation works. See the two booklets "Lead alert: 6 Step Guide to Painting your Home": and " Lead Safe - A Renovator's Guide To The Dangers Of Lead "
• Call on your state parliamentarians to institute training and licensing for lead abatement (paint removal) contractors and lead assessors, and for Certificates of Lead Safety for houses and childcare premises.

Point 3: Industry Surfaces

• Avoid homes and child-care near lead industry;
• Reduce your use and purchase of all lead products and lead-containing products like cars and contribute to maximum possible recycling rates for lead, e.g. car batteries, light bulbs, flashing, pipes, wheel balancing weights;
• As lead is one of the toxic emissions from coal burning power stations, reduce your electricity use.

Point 4: Surfaces Hands. Whether the source is petrol, paint or industry, the major pathway of lead poisoning is via soil and dust (residual) contamination, to surfaces and then from hands to mouth. To stop lead getting from surfaces to hands:

• Have your home or childcare centre assessed for lead contamination. See the list of NSW lead assessors at www.lead.org.au/clp/assessorsnsw.html or if you suspect that you know the source of lead and do not want to engage an assessor to come out to the house,
• phone JBS on 02 8338 1011 and purchase a Do-It-Yourself Lead Safe Test Kit with sampling instructions for sending soil, dust or paint for lead content analysis to Sydney Analytical Laboratories. This is an independent NATA accredited lab which then sends the results to JBS who writes you an interpretation and plan for reducing lead risks. Lead test kits which change colour to show if lead is present in paint or ceramics etc are available from some hardware stores and paint trade centres.
• Industrial HEPA vacuum, wet down and then remove old carpets, replace with washable hard surfaces;
• Carpets which remain, and drapes and soft furnishings can be deleaded on the surface by Elite Maintenance Service Pty Ltd (ph 131580). Carpets should be vacuumed with a HEPA-vacuum or when children are out of the room, and Elite-cleaned every 3 months. Do not put vacuum cleaner dust in your compost or worm farm;
• Wet wipe, using liquid sugar soap and a sponge or mop, all hard surfaces your child may contact, at least fortnightly, and preferably twice weekly or even daily during the crawling phase;
• Stop track-in of dust or soil by placing washable mats or wet towels at the front and back doors;
• Cover bare soil with grass or more permanent barriers like rubber mats that let the grass grow through, gravel, etc;
• Mop paths, verandahs. See the fact sheet "Lead Aware housekeeping and childcare" and " Lead Poisoning - A Guide For Families and " Lead Poisoning - A Guide For Families and " Lead Poisoning - A Guide For Families and " Lead Poisoning - A Guide For Families" at
• Before purchasing a house which is likely to be lead contaminated, have a lead assessment done and negotiate a fair price for the house taking into account the cost of remedying lead hazards.

Point 5: Hands Mouth

• Wash children's hands constantly;
• Use a brush to clean under fingernails;
• Don't allow children to eat away from the table;
• Pin dummies to clothing;
• Ensure supervision sufficient to prevent the child eating old paint or contaminated soil.

Point 6: Mouth Blood. Many individual factors influence what percentage of the lead that is eaten is absorbed from the gut, e.g. an empty stomach absorbs far more lead than a full one, children absorb 5 times more of the lead in the gut than adults. To minimise lead absorption:

• Ensure adequate iron, calcium, zinc, Vit C, protein and omega 3 fatty acids in the diet, especially iron (see "Are you getting enough iron?" and "Is your baby getting enough iron?");
• Ensure that fatty fast foods (high in omega 6 fatty acids) are not consumed too frequently;
• Stick to the good food pyramid.
• Ensure children have frequent small meals, especially before playing in the morning.
• Testing the blood for lead is the best way of assessing recent exposure (over the last 3 months) to lead. See "Rotary CHILDHOOD LEAD EXPOSURE RISK FACTOR QUESTIONNAIRE & MESSAGE TO DOCTORS" by The LEAD Group. To gain some understanding of the wide range of health effects of increasing blood lead levels, see the factsheet: "Health Impacts of Lead Poisoning"

Point 7: Blood Bones and Teeth

• Fruits with lots of pectin eg apples and pears, MAY reduce blood lead levels, ie after lead has already been absorbed from the gut. Eating fruit with lots of pectin can't hurt;
• Ensure prospective parents' blood lead levels are normal (below 10 µg/dL) before a baby is conceived, and for men for 4 months before a baby is conceived in order to avoid fertility problems or passing on lead to the foetus;
• Testing children's shed baby teeth for lead is the best way to assess the child's lead exposure at the time of the development of the teeth, which happens to coincide with the early years of life when children are high-risk for ingesting and absorbing lead and high sensitivity to the effects of lead. Tooth lead analysis   Hair lead tests are uninterpretable.

[DISCLAIMER: Our policy is to give you all the information available to us which you might need to make informed decisions about lead hazards. The information and advice given by the Global Lead Advice & Support Service (GLASS) is given in good faith, but with no responsibility taken]

The LEAD Group Inc is endorsed as an Income Tax Exempt Charitable entity under subdivision 50-B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
The Lead Education and Abatement Fund (L.E.A.F) is a public fund listed on the Register of Environmental Organisations under Item 6.1.1 of subsection 30-55(1) of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 and is endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient under subdivision 30-BA of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997