Some chances are just plain luck.

But when it comes to getting your child off to a safe and healthy start,

you can beat the odds, especially the odds for lead poisoning. 

Children who suffer from 

lead poisoning may have problems with

learning, hearing loss, and other 

serious health problems that can last 

a lifetime. 

But you don’t need

any luck at all to

take this chance.

You just need to take a few 

simple steps.

What’s amazing is

that as serious as

lead poisoning

can be, it’s pretty

easy to prevent.

You’ll have to do a little work, but

the pay-off, your child’s future, 

is well worth it.

It just takes a few simple steps to help fight lead poisoning.

Give your child the chance of a lifetime!

United States Environmental Protection Agency

Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (7404)

Publication EPA 747-F-04-002

February 2004

Recycled/Recyclable

Printed with Vegetable Oil-Based Inks on Recycled Paper 

(Minimum 50% Postconsumer) Process Chlorine Free
 Get your young children tested for

lead, even if they seem healthy. 

 Make sure the whole family washes

their hands before meals and

before going to bed.

 Wash toys, bottles, and pacifiers

regularly.

 Clean up any peeling or chipping

paint, and don’t let children play

with paint chips.

 Mop floors regularly.

 If you think your windowsills may

contain lead-based paint, wipe

them down with a wet cloth each

time you open and close them.

 Take down old, vinyl mini-blinds that

may contain lead and buy blinds that

are labeled as “lead-free.” 

 Let water run until it becomes cold

as it will get. This could take as little

as 15 to 30 seconds if there has been

recent heavy water use such as showering or toilet flushing (Let water

run longer if responding to your

local conditions). If possible, use a

filter for drinking and cooking water.

 If your job exposes you to lead,

remove work clothes at work and

wash your work clothes separately

from the clothes you wear around

your family.

 Cover dirt with mulch or other

plants especially next to your

home to keep children away from

lead paint chips or flakes that may

fall from painted outside walls.

 Do not store food in glazed 

pottery from foreign countries.

Feed children healthy, low-fat

foods high in calcium, iron, and

vitamin C. Lead in the body stops

good vitamins, such as iron and

calcium, from working right.

These small investments of time and

effort don’t seem all that hard when

you’re helping your child to a whole

lifetime of good health. Remember, it

isn’t about luck. It’s about protecting

your child from lead poisoning. 

● If you own a home,ask the previous

owners or the realtor how old the home is to

determine whether or not you should be

concerned about lead in your home.

● Contact your local health

department or water supplier

to have your water tested for lead.

Follow the Few

Simple Rules

to Prevent Lead 

Poisoning.

Talk To Your Child’s 

Doctor About Having 

Your Children Tested 

For Lead Poisoning.

Tell your doctor that you’d like

to have your children, especially

those under age 6, tested for

lead. Your doctor can explain how important it is to have children from 6 months 

to 2 years tested. During these 18 months, 

children grow the most. Head Start 

also requires a blood test when 

a child enters the program. 

Ask the Health Specialist 

at your local Head Start 

center to tell you 

about the process. 

Here’s One Thing You 

Should NOT Do: 

Don’t try to remove leadbased paint by yourself. Hire a 

professional who has training in lead-safe

work practices. Infants, children, and 

pregnant women should not be in the home

while renovations and repairs are under way.

Be sure they can stay with a relative or a

neighbor.

Checking the paint and pipes is probably

the hardest part of protecting your child

from lead poisoning. You can’t really do it by

yourself. But you and your family can do a

lot on your own without any expert advice.

Join with other Head Start parents and ask

representatives of your local health and

environmental departments to come speak 

to a group of parents about lead poisoning

prevention.

Childhood lead poisoning

is a major environmental

health problem in the U.S.

Lead in children can cause:

● Nervous system and kidney damage;

● Learning disabilities; 

● Attention Deficit Disorder; and

● Decreased intelligence.

Where Does Lead

Poisoning Come From? 

Before 1978, some paint used in houses and

apartments, inside and out, contained lead.

People can get lead in their

body if they:

● Put their hands or other objects covered

with lead dust in their mouths. 

● Eat paint chips or soil that contains lead.

● Breathe in lead dust, especially during

renovations that disturb painted surfaces.

Children are more likely to be affected by

lead dust than adults because they are more

likely to put their hands and other objects

into their mouths.

Old water pipes can contain

lead, too. Bathing in it isn’t a problem,

but drinking or cooking with it could be.

How Can You Tell If 

Your Child Has Been

Exposed To Lead?

Since the signs of lead poisoning aren’t

easy to spot, the only sure way to know if a

child has too much lead in his or her body is

with a simple blood test. Children 

with high levels of lead may complain of

headaches or stomachaches, or 

may become very irritable and tired. 

What Can You Do About

Lead in Your Home?

You can do a lot. And most of 

it is just common sense stuff that

you would probably do, anyway.

One of the most important things is to find out

whether there is any lead-based paint or other

sources of lead where you live or where your

children play or visit often. How do you do that? 

● If your home was built before

1978, it may contain lead-based paint.

Don’t remove lead paint yourself. Hire a

trained and certified professional to test

your home for lead. Call 

1-800-424-LEAD (5323) for 

a list of contacts in your area.

● If you rent, it is your landlord’s job to

keep paint in good shape. Report peeling

or chipping paint to your landlord and call

your health department if the paint is not

repaired safely.

Set a Few SimpleRules

for You and Your Children.

For more information on lead and lead poisoning, contact the National Lead

Information Center at 1-800-424-LEAD (5323), where specialists can

speak to you in English and Spanish, call your local health department, 

or visit EPA’s Web site at www.epa.gov/lead.

Where Can I Find More Information?