Ceiling dust & lead poisoning

Very small amounts of lead are known to cause serious long term health effects. Children under the age of four are at particular risk because:

• their increased hand to mouth activity,
• they absorb more lead than adults and
• their brain and nervous systems are still developing.

Pregnant women may be at greater risk than other adults due to changes in their bodies during pregnancy. There is also no barrier to lead in the placenta and therefore no protection for the unborn child from lead in the mother’s blood. But, please remember anyone can be lead poisoned.

The roof void area (attic) of many older Australian homes and buildings contains lead dust and other contaminants. This dust is also present in cavity walls and under the floor areas.

This lead dust has built up over many years from many sources including:

• exhaust emissions from petrol
• fall out from wood-burning or coal-burning
• renovations and demolitions in your home or even from neighbouring properties
• industrial fall-out such as from power stations, incinerators, crematoriums, car repair sites, lead mines and smelters.

The hazard from this dust is influenced not only by the percentage of lead found, but also by the amount of dust present. A small amount of dust with a high percentage of lead MAY be less of a problem than a lower percentage of lead with large amounts of dust. Some houses have had up to 800 kilograms of dust removed from their roof void!

If there's a lot of dust, you will want to have it removed professionally to avoid the possibility of the ceiling collapsing under the weight of it, and the dust spreading throughout the house. The LEAD Group sells DIY-Sampling Lead Lab Analysis Kits which can be used to test the concentration of lead in your ceiling dust, or better still, the amount of lead in a dust wipe on any children's play floor or child-accessible window sill which is underneath any point of ingress of ceiling dust into the living space.

See www.adra.com.au which states that members of the Australian Dust Removalists Association typically charge around $10 per square metre to professionally remove ceiling dust. If there are no ADRA members in your area, ask any ceiling dust removal contractors if they follow the ADRA "Code of Practice", and if so, ask them to apply to join ADRA so that the Global Lead Advice and Support Service can then refer inquirers to ADRA members in each state.

There are two studies online that have measured the amounts of various toxic substances in Australian ceiling dusts:

Ceiling Dust: A Potential Urban Environmental Problem and
Ceiling (attic) dust; a "museum" of contamination and potential hazard

This dust in your roof void does NOT pose a risk if ceilings, cornices and ceiling roses are in good repair. In fact the dust is better left untouched if there is no "leakage" of dust into living spaces. The exception is if the dust is to be disturbed.

The risk of contaminating your living space with dust is increased if you are:

• renovating your home in ways which will involve the demolition of ceilings or cavity walls
• adding a second storey extension
• putting in an attic ladder installing insulation or
• installing a skylight or intruding into the roof space in any way.

The cost of decontamination clean up costs much more than the cost of dust removal, plus puts your health and the health of any other occupants (especially children) very much at risk.

You need to take care not to poison your family or contaminate your home.

Tell-tale black dust trails near cracks or cornices are a sign of deterioration of the "seal" of the ceiling Ceiling roses inolder homes can also be a source of dust. They have vents behind the decorative rose which would allow the circulation of air when gas lighting was used. Water damage may also allow dust to enter living spaces or even for a ceiling to collapse.

WARNING!! We do not recommend do-it-yourself ceiling dust removal as it is dirty, dangerous and requires special equipment.

However if you do attempt to do this work yourself or if you have someone do it for you, it is important to remember the following:

The worker must enter through the roof by removing the tiles - never through the manhole due to the risk of contamination to the living spaces.

Children, pregnant women and pets should be kept away from the work area and should not return to the site until clean up is finished.

The worker should always wear a respirator mask marked with an AS 1716 endorsement (a P1 or P2 rated mask will protect from toxic dusts). Cheap paper masks will afford NO protection against fine lead particles. Ensure that the mask is snug on the face and men with facial hair should wear full face respirators. Wear protective clothing (long sleeves and pants) which do not catch dust or flakes in pockets or cuffs etc. Disposable overalls and plastic boot covers which can be taken off when leaving the void and placed in a plastic bag for disposal are a good idea.

Be aware of electrical wires and do not use sharp metal tools, even to take a dust sample.

Under no circumstances use your home vacuum cleaner to clean up leaded dust. Most domestic machines are not fitted with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter and therefore the lead particles will travel through the machine and recontaminate the area.

The Global Lead Advice & Support Service can advise you as to the hire of the correct equipment or better still, companies who can do the work for you.

Personal hygiene is very important. Worker should wash their hands regularly and shower at the completion of each work day and especially before coming into contact with young children. Even small amounts of dust transported on work clothes can pose a serious risk for young children.

Work clothes should be washed separately in a high phosphate detergent (e.g. liquid sugar soap) Then rinse out the machine before next use to avoid contaminating other clothes.

There should be no smoking whilst the work is undertaken as the fine lead particles will settle on hands and the face. The burning end of the cigarette will transform the lead dust in the air and on the cigarette into a dangerous lead fume.

After completion of the work, wipe all hard surfaces (including window sills, skirting boards and picture rails) and any furniture with a damp cloth using a high phosphate detergent solution.

The collected dust should be double bagged in heavy duty plastic bags and sealed. Dispose of the collected dust at a waste facility approved by the NSW Environment Protection Authority - ring Pollution Line 131 555 for further details.

Domestic amounts of waste dust can be recycled (for the lead content) at the secondary lead smelter at Alexandria, telephone 9516 6230.

This fact sheet was produced with the assistance of the NSW Government.

Also see: Ceiling Dust Slide show  - Lead In Ceiling Dust  - Lead paint & ceiling dust management - how to do it lead-safely

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The LEAD Group Inc. Fact Sheet Index

1. About the Global Lead Advice and Support Service (GLASS) 2. Main Sources of Lead 3. How Would You Know If You or Your Child Was lead poisoned? 4. Lead aware housekeeping 5. Ceiling dust & lead poisoning 6. Is your yard lead safe?     你的院子是铅安全的吗 7. Health Impacts of lead poisoning 8. Rotary Questionnaire 9. Lead poisoned Pets and Your Family 10. Childhood Lead Poisoning Risk Factor Questionnaire 11. Is Your Child Safe From Lead? - What Can You Do About Lead? pdf 12. Lead in Drinking Water in Australia 13. Have We Really Resolved The Lead Issue? 14. The Importance of the Availability of "Spot Tests" for Lead in Paint 15. Pregnant or Planning a Pregnancy 16. Breastfeeding and Lead 17. Lead in breast milk 18. Beware The Lead In Lead Lighting 19. Renting and Lead 20. What to do if you have too much lead in your tank water.pdf 21. Lead Contamination in Stormwater.pdf 22. Contamination At Shooting Ranges.pdf 23. Banned: Leaded Wick Candles 24. Lead, Ageing and Death       铅，衰老和死亡 25. Metal miniatures: How to minimise the risks of lead poisoning and contamination 26. 7 Point Plan for the MANAGEMENT OF LEAD by Australian parents and carers 27. Countries where Leaded Petrol is Possibly Still Sold for Road Use, As at 22nd June 2009 28. Lead Poisoning And The Brain - Cognitive Deficits And Mental Illness 29. Facts and Firsts of Lead 30. Lead mining royalties by state and territory 31. Lead Mining Stewardship - Grey Lead and the Role of The LEAD Group 32. Preventative Strategies of The LEAD Group 33. What do Doctors need to do about Lead? 34. A Naturopath's Experience Of Lead & People With Diagnosed Mental Illness 35. Case File: Helping Manage Australian Lead in Petrol - How GLASS Works 36. Glass Web & Service-Users, Experts & Volunteers, by Country; Countries with Leaded Petrol for Road Use & Worst Pollution 37. Lead in ceiling dust 38. Lead paint & ceiling dust management - how to do it lead-safely 39. Esperance parliamentary inquiry follow-up factsheet: Where to from Here??       埃斯佩兰斯议会调查后续情况说明书：从这里去哪里？？ 40. Broken Hill lead miners factsheet 1893 with Note 20081015 41. Helping a Doctor Help 35,000 Lead-Poisoned People Around the Lead Smelter at La Oroya in Peru       Ayuda a un doctor que ayuda 35,000 personas envenenadas por plomo alrededor de la fundidora de plomo en la Oroya-Peru       案例档案：帮助一个医生救助在秘鲁的拉奥罗亚的铅冶炼厂周围的35，000铅中毒的人民—全球铅咨询和支持的服务机构是怎末工作的 42. Fact sheet for Australian toy importers and traders 43. Iron Nutrition & Lead Toxicity pdf       Informe de Acciones – Hierro y Plomo en la Nutrición pdf      情况说明书—铁的营养和铅的毒性 pdf 44. Sanitarium-Are You getting Enough Iron pdf 45. Do-It-Yourself-Lead-Safe-Test-Kits-flyer 46. Blood lead testing: who to test, when, and how to respond to the result 47. Dangers of a blood lead level above 2 µg/dL and below 10 µg/dL to both adults and children pdf 48. Lead Exposure & Alzheimer’s Disease: Is There A Link?   49. In CHINA - Blood lead testing: who to test, when, and how to respond to the result       在中国血铅测试：谁应该去检查，什么时候，如何对待不同的测试结果 50. Why you should have your ceiling dust removed before you take advantage of the Australian government's Energy Efficient Homes Package: Insulation Program 51. Alperstein et al Lead Alert - A Guide For Health Professionals 1994 pdf 52. Ceiling Dust WorkCover Guide Lee Schreiber Final Nov 1999 pdf 53. What can I do about climate change AND lead? 54. The Need for Expert Clinical Assessments in Diagnosis Of Heavy Metal Poisoning

global lead advice     & support service     Run by The Lead Education and Abatement Design Group Working to eliminate childhood and foetal lead poisoning by the year 2012 and to protect the environment from lead ABN 25 819 463 114 Australians! Take action today. Is lead harming you & your kids? Buy low cost, NATA accredited laboratory lead test kits here. Sample your dust, soil, water, paint, toys, jewellery, ceramics   Water Lead test Kits Proceeds from our DIY Home Lead Assessment kit sales go towards the Global Lead Advice and Support Service administrative costs.

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eWebcounter Page Views Since July 2006 Last Updated 25 February 2010 Copyright © The LEAD Group Inc. 1991- 2010 PO Box 161 Summer Hill NSW 2130 Australia Phone: +61 2 9716 0014 Fax: +61 2 9716 9005