Lead and Old Homes

[Nazerac]

Many of the BTFers already know that Lead is a toxin, but did you know Illinois already has the dubious distinction of having the most lead-poisoned children of any state in the nation, and Berwyn's lead poisoning rate of 4% is already higher than Illinois' average of 1.3% ?

There are always some good discussions about schools on this board, however, do you know that there it is a direct correlation between school performance (children education and behavior) and lead poisoning?

Lead and Children's Education


Intelligence Quotient : Lead poisoning has a devastating impact on the IQ of children. There is an average of 5.5 or more IQ point reduction for each 10 ug/dl increase in blood lead level.[1]
Educational Deficits : Children with even very low blood lead levels, below current CDC Guidelines, show poorer performance on tests of arithmetic skills, reading skills, nonverbal reasoning and short term memory.[2]
High Drop Out Rates : "Early lead exposure is associated with a sevenfold increase in risk of failing to graduate from high school and six-fold increase in a student's having a reading disability."[3]
Permanent Damage : It is very difficult to reverse the impacts of lead poisoning. While it may be possible to rehabilitate the brain partially to reverse the damage caused by lead poisoning, more often than not, this rehabilitation is not available to children who are lead poisoned. Thus a large population of children is permanently damaged by this completely preventable cause of brain injury. [4]

Behavior:

Increased Delinquent Behavior: Adolescent boys with elevated blood lead levels are more likely to engage in acts of bullying, vandalism, arson, shoplifting and other delinquent behaviors.[5]
Prenatal Exposure is Risky as Well: Both prenatal and postnatal exposure to Pb were associated with reported antisocial acts and may play a measurable role in the epigenesis of behavioral problems independent of the other social and biomedical cofactors. [6]


While the primary focus of City of Homes Organization ( http://www.cityofhomes.org and http://www.facebook.com/cityofhomes)  is supporting and promoting adaptive reuse and preservation of historic homes, we recognize that this provides us a unique opportunity to be a driver of environmental justice and health equity initiatives as it relates to safe housing.  It is for this reason that we have partnered with Jack's Rental to make HEPA negative air filter machines, HEPA vacuums and other resources available to help Berwyn residents reduce their potential lead exposure during their renovation projects.

Join us at the next Bungalows on Tap, This THURSDAY, February 23 at 7:00 PM, at Fitzgerald's Side Bar to learn about lead hazards in old homes and receive information on how you to use and access, FREE OF RENTAL CHARGES, these specialty HEPA filtered equipment for your next DIY project.


Follow this link to register: http://cityofhomes.eventbrite.com/


References:
1. Press Release, Pediatric Academic Societies. April 2001
2. "Cognitive Deficits Associated with Blood Lead Concentrations <10 ug/dl in U.S. Children and Adolescents." Lanphear BP et al. Public Health Reports. Nov/Dec 2000; 115: 521-529
3. "Childhood Exposure to Lead: A Common Cause of School Failure." Needleman HL. Phi Delta Kappan. September 1992
4. Personal Communication. Holtrop T. Childrens Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan. December 10, 2002.
5. Bone Lead Levels and Delinquent Behavior Needleman HL. Journal of the American Medical Association , February 7, 1996, 363-369.
6. Early Exposure to Lead and Juvenile Delinquency. Dietrich KN. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2001 Nov-Dec;23(6):511-8.

[berwyn senator]

Lead is all over in these old  homes,when the paint peels children are drawn to its sweet taste.

[jfrickind]

We had to have lead abatement at our house.  The basement was COVERED in lead dust.  We replaced all of the windows and took out all of the lead paint in the basement - or as much as we could.  Next we have to replace our basement steps that have the battleship grey paint on them - the last bit of lead in the house.

JD

[Robert Pauly]

Same here - we replaced all of our windows (except the stained glass windows) - windows are the #1 cause of lead poisoning (opening and closing leads to sweet tasting lead dust).

If your home was built before 1978, you might have a problem - Cook County has programs to help with lead abatement.

[berwyn senator]

The stained glass on the front windows of many bungalows are not leaded glass,they look like the real thing but are not.Sorry to say the last I heard Crook County is out of money! When they checked my house they even checked my old bathtub which was OK. Battleship grey,hell I got the bonus a deep red paint on the basement floor,with the grey steps.

[Nazerac]

Many of the BTFers already know that Lead is a toxin, but did you know Illinois already has the dubious distinction of having the most lead-poisoned children of any state in the nation, and Berwyn's lead poisoning rate of 4% is already higher than Illinois' average of 1.3% ?

There are always some good discussions about schools on this board, however, do you know that there it is a direct correlation between school performance (children education and behavior) and lead poisoning?

Lead and Children's Education


Intelligence Quotient : Lead poisoning has a devastating impact on the IQ of children. There is an average of 5.5 or more IQ point reduction for each 10 ug/dl increase in blood lead level.[1]
Educational Deficits : Children with even very low blood lead levels, below current CDC Guidelines, show poorer performance on tests of arithmetic skills, reading skills, nonverbal reasoning and short term memory.[2]
High Drop Out Rates : "Early lead exposure is associated with a sevenfold increase in risk of failing to graduate from high school and six-fold increase in a student's having a reading disability."[3]
Permanent Damage : It is very difficult to reverse the impacts of lead poisoning. While it may be possible to rehabilitate the brain partially to reverse the damage caused by lead poisoning, more often than not, this rehabilitation is not available to children who are lead poisoned. Thus a large population of children is permanently damaged by this completely preventable cause of brain injury. [4]

Behavior:

Increased Delinquent Behavior: Adolescent boys with elevated blood lead levels are more likely to engage in acts of bullying, vandalism, arson, shoplifting and other delinquent behaviors.[5]
Prenatal Exposure is Risky as Well: Both prenatal and postnatal exposure to Pb were associated with reported antisocial acts and may play a measurable role in the epigenesis of behavioral problems independent of the other social and biomedical cofactors. [6]


While the primary focus of City of Homes Organization ( http://www.cityofhomes.org and http://www.facebook.com/cityofhomes)  is supporting and promoting adaptive reuse and preservation of historic homes, we recognize that this provides us a unique opportunity to be a driver of environmental justice and health equity initiatives as it relates to safe housing.  It is for this reason that we have partnered with Jack's Rental to make HEPA negative air filter machines, HEPA vacuums and other resources available to help Berwyn residents reduce their potential lead exposure during their renovation projects.

Join us at the next Bungalows on Tap, This THURSDAY, February 23 at 7:00 PM, at Fitzgerald's Side Bar to learn about lead hazards in old homes and receive information on how you to use and access, FREE OF RENTAL CHARGES, these specialty HEPA filtered equipment for your next DIY project.


Follow this link to register: http://cityofhomes.eventbrite.com/


References:
1. Press Release, Pediatric Academic Societies. April 2001
2. "Cognitive Deficits Associated with Blood Lead Concentrations <10 ug/dl in U.S. Children and Adolescents." Lanphear BP et al. Public Health Reports. Nov/Dec 2000; 115: 521-529
3. "Childhood Exposure to Lead: A Common Cause of School Failure." Needleman HL. Phi Delta Kappan. September 1992
4. Personal Communication. Holtrop T. Childrens Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, Michigan. December 10, 2002.
5. Bone Lead Levels and Delinquent Behavior Needleman HL. Journal of the American Medical Association , February 7, 1996, 363-369.
6. Early Exposure to Lead and Juvenile Delinquency. Dietrich KN. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2001 Nov-Dec;23(6):511-8.

bump. 

p.s.  There will be food donated by smokin M's