1.  Make sure your doctor checks your child's blood lead level

All children should be screened at 12 months of age and again at 24 months of age as part of well-baby care.  Make sure that your doctor has done this screening and find out what the results were.  If the doctor hasn't done it, insist that the test is done.  Sometimes, doctors will say that they don't think its necessary, but it is necessary to make sure your child has the best chances for a full and productive life.  Tell you doctor you want the test done.  It is inexpensive and covered by nearly all forms of insurance, including Medicaid. If you are uninsured, the Chautauqua County Health Department can provide a lead test for your child.  Please call the Health Department at 753-4491, 363-4491 or 661-7491.

2.  Housekeeping

• Keep children away from peeling or chipping paint.  Block access to chewable surfaces that you think might have lead-based paint on them, especially windows, window sills, and window wells.  You can use furniture to block access to theses areas (put a couch in front of your window!).  Make sure cribs, playpens, etc. are not near old windows or near paint that is peeling and flaking. 

 
• Pick up all the visible paint chips with a wet paper towel - do not vacuum unless you have a HEPA filtered vacuum cleaner - the exhaust will spread the lead dust all over the house.  If you do have a HEPA filtered vacuum, use it to clean up the dust after you have picked up the larger visible paint chips with a wet paper towel.

 
• Wet wash all painted surfaces and the floors nearby (especially windows and doors), using automatic dishwasher detergent and water.  Automatic dishwashing detergent contains an ingredient called TSP (trisodium phosphate) which is very, very good at cleaning up lead dust - the ingredient label will tell you exactly how much TSP is in each brand.  Use 1/4 cup of detergent in a bucket of warm water and have a second bucket of warm water to rinse.  When you are done, throw away the rags and mop heads that you used to clean - they will contaminate other areas if you re-use them.  Or, use paper towels to clean up with and throw them away as you go.

 
• Use a HEPA filtered vacuum to clean rugs and furniture that lead dust may have settled on.  Vacuuming with a regular vacuum is likely to make the problem worse by scattering dust all over the house through the exhaust. Clean hard floors by wet mopping with automatic dishwasher soap and water.

3.  Handwashing

• Wash children's hands and faces often and always before they eat. Little children get invisible particles of dust on their hands as they play.  Since children put everything, including their hands, into their mouths, this lead dust will get into their bodies through normal hand-to-mouth activity.  The more often you wash their hands, the better!

 
• Wash toys and pacifiers frequently.  Lead dust can settle on toys and get onto pacifiers and bottles that fall on the floor or are dropped into window wells.  When kids put them in their mnouths, they will get the lead dust into their bodies.

4.  Nutrition

• Make sure children eat regular nutritious meals, since more lead is absorbed on an empty stomach. 

 
• Make sure children's diets contain plenty of iron and calcium.  To the body, lead looks like calcium or iron.  Therefore, if a child's body is low in calcium or iron, the body will absorb more lead thinking that its doing a good thing!

Examples of foods high in iron are liver, fortified cereal, cooked beans, spinach, and raisins. 
Examples of foods high in calcium are milk, yogurt, cheese, and cooked greens.

5.  Soil

If soil around the home is likely to be lead-contaminated (such as around a home built before 1960 or near a major highway), plant grass or other ground cover. If lead-based paint is the source of soil contamination, most lead will be near painted surfaces such as exterior walls. In such cases, plant bushes next to the house to keep children away. If the soil is contaminated with lead, provide a sandbox with a solid bottom and top cover, and clean sand for children to play and dig in.

6.  Water

If the lead content of tap water in the home is higher than the drinking water standard, let the cold water run for several minutes (until it is as cold as possible) before using it. 
Lead from pipes needs time to leach into the water - it does not have time to get into the water that is quickly passing through on its way to a faucet.  Therefore, lead is usually only a problem in drinking water if you drink or cook with the water that comes out of the tap immediately after is turned on.  Use only fully-flushed water from the cold-water tap for drinking and cooking.  If you have lead in your pipes, never use hot water for drinking, cooking or preparing bottles because the hot water will allow the lead to leach into the water more quickly.
 

7.  Food

Do not store food in open cans, especially imported cans. Do not store or serve food in pottery that is meant for decorative use. Pottery glazes often contain lead for color.  Also, do not store food or beverages in lead crystal or china - just like with your pipes, lead will leach into liquids that are stored in lead crystal.

8. Parents' Work or Hobbies

If members of the family work with lead, make sure children are not exposed through any lead-contaminated clothing or scrap material brought home.