5,000 ppm or over is a high amount of lead in paint. If paint is peeling or chipping, a child can easily eat it during normal play. Over many years, painted surfaces crumble into household dust. This dust clings to toys, fingers and other objects that children normally put into their mouths. This is the most common way that lead gets into your child.
Children also get lead into their bodies by chewing on lead painted surfaces.
Some young children eat paint that is peeling or chipping. For more information about lead in paint, call your local health department. Reprinted with permission from the California Department of Health Services and the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Branch. Watch this if baby's meals end with thrown food. Learn about a potentially lifesaving new vaccine.