Home built before ’78? Belt says assume it’s got lead-based paint
By LEONARD GLENN CRIST, Salem News staff writerAll homes built before 1978 should be assumed to contain lead-based paint.That's the advice John Belt has for parents of young children. Belt is the health planning administrator for the Ohio Department of Health's (ODH) childhood lead poisoning prevention program.
If the home was built before 1978, the year lead-based paint was banned from residential use in the United States, lead can be assumed to be present on the exterior of a home, Belt said. If the home was built before 1950, lead can be assumed to be present in the interior of the home as well, he said.
Lead exposure in children under 6 years old can cause decreased intelligence and other neurological and developmental problems, according to ODH. Children are generally exposed to lead by breathing dust from ground paint chips or by ingesting paint chips and dust.
Recently, a 2-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy living in a Salem rental property were found to suffer from lead poisoning due to lead-based paint in the Cleveland Street home.
Property owners have no legal responsibility to remediate or test for lead hazards prior to renting, Belt said. However, any home constructed before 1978 that is sold or rented requires the owner or landlord to give the potential tenant a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pamphlet that details the dangers of lead exposure through lead-based paint, Belt said.
A tenant should retain a licensed lead risk assessor, lead inspector or clearance technician if they suspect lead may be present, Belt said. Tenants could also use a home lead test, which would likely cost less but would also be less reliable, he said.
A child must test positive for elevated blood lead levels before ODH will perform a lead risk assessment, Belt said. If that assessment comes back positive for lead, the state would then order a homeowner to remediate the lead contamination using a state-approved lead abatement contractor within 45 days. If that timetable is violated, the state would declare the house "unsafe for human occupation" and order the house vacated.
Belt said simple steps to avoid lead poisoning in a house possibly containing lead-based paint include taking shoes off at doors (because porches often contain lead-based paint), wet wiping horizontal surfaces with bleach a few times a week, regular hand washing of children and giving children a diet high in calcium and iron.
State Sen. Jason Wilson said property owners, in addition to tenants, need to be educated about the dangers of lead-based paint..
Wilson, who himself owns rental properties, said a landlord isn't going to save money in the long run by ignoring lead issues.
"If you're gonna get into the business of renting houses, you'd be better be aware and you'd better brush up on your information," Wilson said. "If you're not checking for lead, then what else aren't you checking for?"
Wilson said its better for property owners to disclose everything upfront rater than later trying to make amends.
One good source of information for both tenants and property owners is the public library, Wilson said, which contains the local housing codes as well as books about what to look for when you rent a home.
For potential tenants, Wilson has the following advice: "If you like a place and want to rent it, go to the landlord and say, 'What about this peeling paint on the ceiling? What about on the windowsills or on the porch?'"
"This is something that people need to pay attention to because the last thing we want to see is a child get hurt," Wilson said.
Leonard Glenn Crist can be reached at lcrist@salemnews.net
