What is Lead?
Lead can be found in the air, soil, paint, and even food. Exposure to too much lead can cause serious health problems such as learning and behavior problems in children, high blood pressure, kidney damage, and reproductive damage in adults.
Health Risk?
Lead poisoning is a disease that occurs when too much lead builds up in the body. Symptoms of lead poisoning include lack of appetite, irritability, constipation, headache, stomach cramps, drowsiness, fatigue, and trouble sleeping. Symptoms, however, do not occur until the advanced stages of lead poisoning. Children run a greater risk of lead poisoning because their bodies easily absorb lead. Lead can also harm a child’s growth. For that reason, parents with children ages 6 months through 6 years old should have their child’s blood tested for lead once a year.
Where is lead found?
Lead can be found in the air, soil, paint, and even food. Listed below are the most common conditions to look for when identifying sources of lead that may be a problem in residential property.
- Lead-based paints- Eating cracking, chipping and peeling lead based paint is a common lead source for young children. Lead paint was used on the inside and outside of homes.
- Lead Dust- Household dust can contain small pieces of lead from paint chips or tracked in soil, your house can look clean and still have lead in it.
- Soil- Sometimes lead is in the soil next to buildings with chipped paint or homes that have been remodeled. Lead can also be in the soil after a building has been torn down.
- Food- Plants usually do not absorb lead unless there is a large amount of lead in the soil.
- Water- Lead levels in your water are likely to be highest if your home or water system has lead pipes or copper pipes with lead solder.
What can be done?
Preventative measures can reduce your exposure to lead poisoning. Testing is available if you are concerned about lead in your home. Please check out the links at the bottom of the page for more information.
Contacts:
For information on lead and lead poisoning, contact the Code Enforcement & Public Health Division at (763) 493-8070 or the state health agency.
MS 144.989 through 144.993
Minnesota Department of Health
Minnesota Rules- 4761
Other lead information:
Environmental Protection Agency
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
