These agreements give the states resources to help set up and manage their own lead abatement programs. McCabe said another benefit is that the states are working jointly to design and establish programs that are relatively consistent so that workers or contractors certified in one state can legally do lead abatement work in certain other states with minimal additional training requirements. Lead poisoning may not show obvious signs in its early stages, but the effects are damaging to babies, young children up to six years of age, and pregnant or nursing mothers. Pregnant women exposed to high levels of lead can transfer the lead to their unborn babies, and infants can absorb lead from their mothers' breast milk. The ill effects of lead poisoning in children include learning disabilities, decreased growth, hyperactivity, impaired hearing, and even brain damage.
Many scientists contend that neurological damage from lead poisoning is irreversible.