The long-term effects of childhood lead exposure can be very severe. Children can suffer impaired intellectual development, stunted growth, and hearing and behaviour problems. Fortunately, these effects can be limited if a child receives prompt medical attention and their exposure to lead is reduced.

You can't see, taste or smell lead. Without you being aware of it, there may be lead in and around your home or child care setting. Read on to identify potential hidden sources of lead and to learn some precautions to take that will protect children from lead's harmful effects.

Facts About Lead

• Lead can be present in the dust, soil and paint in and around your home, or in your drinking water or food.
• Lead does not break down naturally. If it is present in or around a home or child care environment it poses a threat to children's health.
• If you are pregnant, you can pass lead on from your body to your baby. Low levels of lead can affect nervous system and brain development in the fetus. Women who are exposed to high levels of lead are a higher risk for stillbirth or miscarriage.
• Lead used to be present in interior paint, gasoline and in solder on food cans. In Canada, it has been virtually eliminated from these products, and Health Canada is developing a strategy to reduce lead in other consumer products.
• Health Canada has issued warnings about the following products, because of their potentially high lead content:
  • Inexpensive jewellery. Parents are advised to throw away inexpensive jewellery because of potentially high concentrations of lead. These products are particularly dangerous if children suck or mouth them, and children may be attracted to lead's sweet metallic taste.
  • Old or imported PVC (plastic) miniblinds. Inexpensive 1" horizontal PVC (plastic) miniblinds should be removed from homes and child care settings because they contain lead.
• Other products of concern include:
  • Plastic toys made from rigid PVC plastic. PVC plastic is used to make some children's toys, and other consumer products like shampoo bottles. Lead can be added to PVC to make the plastic more durable. Parents and caregivers are advised to give infants fabric rather than plastic teethers, and to provide children with toys made of wood or non-PVC plastic.
  • Old or imported pottery or lead crystal glasswares. Although lead is no longer allowed in ceramic glazes in Canada, these are still used in other countries, and can pose a problem when used for cooking, or for storing foods or liquids.

What can you do?

1. Reduce the risk from lead-based paint. Most homes built before 1960 contain lead-based paint. If your home was built after 1980, it likely does not contain lead-based interior paint, but there may be lead-based paint on its exterior surfaces.
   
   Lead paint is dangerous if small pieces of it peel or chip off and are eaten. When surfaces covered in lead paint rub together, such as when you open a window or a door, they create dust. Children can then swallow or inhale lead dust, which is a threat to their health. For information on how to have your home tested for lead-based paint, and how to safely remove lead paint, consult Health Canada's website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/iyh/products/leadpaint.html or contact the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation at www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca.
   
   
2. Prevent lead dust from entering homes and child care settings. If you work with lead in your job or hobby, you can carry lead inside on your clothes or hands without knowing it. Consider showering and changing your clothes before entering a home or child care environment. For more information on lead in the workplace, consult the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety at http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/chem_profiles/lead/working_lead.html.
   
   Lead can also be tracked indoors from the soil around your home or workplace, contaminated from exterior lead paint. Soil next to roads or highways may be contaminated from years of exposure to exhaust from vehicles using leaded gasoline.
   
   
3. Maintain an environment that is as clean and dust-free as possible. Ordinary dust and dirt can contain lead, which children can easily swallow or inhale. For example, children who play in dust or dirt and then put their fingers or toys in their mouths or who then eat without washing their hands first, may end up ingesting lead.
   
   
4. Have your water tested for lead. When lead gets into the indoor water supply it is usually from plumbing made with lead materials. Water will pick up more lead if it sits for a long time in the pipes, if it is hot, or if it is naturally acidic. Boiling water will not eliminate or reduce any lead content. Your local health department or water supplier can tell you how to have your water tested for lead.
   
   
5. Practice healthy eating. Children who get enough iron and calcium in their diets absorb less lead. Meals and snacks that contain eggs, beans and lean red meat are high in iron. Dairy products like milk and cheese are a good source of calcium.
   
   
6. If you think your child has been exposed to lead, get your child's blood lead levels tested. A family doctor can order a simple blood test to find out how much lead your child has been exposed to. For more information, contact your doctor or the Poison Control Information Centre nearest you.
   
   The symptoms of lead poisoning include a metallic taste in the mouth, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and convulsions. Exposure to lower levels of lead is associated with tiredness, irritability, loss of appetite, reduced attention span, inability to sleep and digestive problems including constipation. Bear in mind that it is possible for children to have high blood lead levels and appear healthy.

Healthy Spaces © was developed by the Canadian Institute of Child Health (www.cich.ca) in partnership with the Canadian Child Care Federation (www.cccf-fcsge.ca), funded by Human Resources Development Canada. Healthy Spaces (www.cfc-efc.ca/healthyspaces) is housed on Child & Family Canada (www.cfc-efc.ca).