{"id":16978,"date":"2023-03-03T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-03T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/content-manager\/?p=16978"},"modified":"2023-03-03T15:01:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T20:01:22","slug":"lead-based-paint-safety-nyc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.renthop.com\/blog\/lead-based-paint-safety-nyc\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead Paint Safety in NYC Housing"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Lead-based paint and lead-contaminated dust have created health hazards for young children and adults for over a century. However, lead exposure only became apparent in the 1970s. It is illegal to build a home and use lead-based paint, yet 29 million homes<\/a> in the U.S. still have lead-based paint hazards. Over two million of these homes have young children residing in them. NYC<\/a> has regulations against lead paint and laws demanding that landlords identify and resolve any lead-based paint hazards, but residents in older buildings should take extra precautions to ensure young children are not endangered.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

History<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Before lead was known to be dangerous, it was widely used as a practical and inexpensive metal. Not only used in paint, lead has had a myriad of usages over the past 5000 years, including pipes, makeup, and cookware. Chemistry professor Joseph Heppert told NPR<\/a> that lead was the \u201cplastic of the ancient world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

As far back as the 4th century B.C.E.<\/a>, artists would grind lead into dust to make lead white paint, known for its opacity and density. Artists like Vermeer and Vincent Van Gogh have famously used the pigment. Though artists frequently suffered from side effects from the paint (then titled \u201cpainter\u2019s colic,\u201d now known as lead poisoning), artists continued to use lead white paint until it was outlawed in the 1970s.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In 1904<\/a> Dr. Lockhart Gibson, a physician in Australia, concluded that lead paint in homes was responsible for lead poisoning in children. He also gathered that freshly painted or worn, chipping surfaces were of primary concern. For the first half of the 20th century, the dangers were well known amongst physicians. However, lead poisoning was difficult to diagnose due to the lack of available diagnostic tools such as blood testing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The city finally outlawed it in residential buildings in 1978. However, lead still resides in boats, cars, and, most commonly, batteries. Though lead-based paint is not in new construction<\/a>, tenants living in homes built before 1978 can still face danger from existing lead-based paint.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Use and Danger<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Though lead-based paint is no longer used in residences, homes built before 1978 can still have the risk of lead exposure. Chipped paint, dust from peeling paint, or crumbling wood or plaster on doors and windows all create danger for young children. The CDC<\/a> states that \u201cany surface covered with lead-based paint where the paint may wear by rubbing or friction is likely to cause lead dust including windows, doors, floors, porches, stairways, and cabinets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Lead paint is particularly dangerous to young children, as they frequently swallow the chips or dust found on windowsills or doors. Though some symptoms of lead exposure<\/a> are similar to common diseases (abdominal pain, fatigue, and vomiting), lead poisoning can cause behavior and learning problems in young children as well. The body absorbs lead and it can penetrate the nervous system, resulting in a disruption of the normal function of calcium. Lead can also cause high blood pressure and mental disability. At high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal. Though the risk is highest for young children, lead can also be dangerous to adults.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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