Pittsburgh Lead Exposure

Lead is a neurotoxic metal that occurs naturally and can be found in the Earth's crust. However, human activity has brought large quantities of lead to the surface where it can be found in homes, in the soil, and in the air. Although the hazards of lead are well recognized today, lead used to be used in a variety of consumer goods, such as gasoline, pipes and paint. Congress, in an effort to eradicate the threat posed by lead contamination, banned the continued use of leaded gasoline in 1972, lead-based paint in 1978, and lead drinking water pipes and solder in 1986.

Today, the most common type of lead exposure comes from the deteriorating paint (chipping, chalking, peeling, cracking or damaged) of homes built before 1978, when lead-based paint was still legal and frequently used. Lead-based paint is also often found on surfaces that are easily accessible to small children. Examples of these types of hazardous surfaces include windows and window sills, doors and door frames, stairs, railings, banisters, and porches.

Children growing up in Pittsburgh are particularly at risk of lead exposure. This is because, according to the Allegheny County Department of Health, more than 86% of the county's housing stock was built before 1978 and more than 60% were built before 1950. Unless the homeowner or landlord properly remediated the lead-based paint hazard in the home according to EPA standards, a home built before the national lead paint ban will continue to have layers of lead-based paint today. When the newer layers peel or flake, the older, leaded layers come off with them and fall to the floor where young children play.

Lead-based paint dust is also a common source of exposure for young children, and is created when lead-based paint is heated, scraped, or sanded. It also forms when surfaces that contain lead-paint bump or rub together, like when doors or windows are opened and closed. Dust and paint chips can get into the floor baseboards, which can be very hazardous to small children who spend much of their time playing on the floor. Lead dust that has settled can reenter the air when the floors swept, vacuumed, or even when people walk through the home.

Lead exposure is extremely dangerous to children ages 6 and under. During this time, a child's brain and nervous system are highly sensitive to the devastating effects of lead. If you live in a house or apartment that was built before 1978 and has not had lead abatement, you are at a greater risk of exposure to lead hazards.

Because the state of Pennsylvania does not currently have a universal testing requirement, it's important to be proactive when it comes to their children's health. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises that children be screened between ages 1 and 2, or before age 7 if they have never been tested. If your child tests positive for a blood-lead level, tell your landlord immediately, and contact an experience lead poisoning attorney today.

The lead poisoning law firm of Levy Konigsberg LLP has decades of experience in lead paint litigation, and has won over $100 million in verdicts and settlements on behalf of lead poisoned children. Contact one of our experienced lead poisoning attorneys today for a free case consultation.