The health and development of children living in as many as 3.8 million American homes is endangered by chipping or peeling lead paint, or excessive amounts of lead-contaminated dust in their homes. Lead from paint chips, which you can see, and lead dust, which you can't always see, can both be serious hazards. Lead-based paint that is in good condition is usually not a hazard. Peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking lead-based paint is a hazard and needs immediate attention. Lead dust can form when lead-based paint is dry scraped, dry sanded, or heated.
Dust also forms when painted surfaces bump or rub together.
Lead chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects that people touch. Settled lead dust can reenter the air when people vacuum, sweep, or walk through it. Lead in soil can be a hazard when children play in bare soil or when people bring soil into the house on their shoes. Just knowing that a home has lead-based paint may not tell you if there is a hazard. It won't tell you whether the paint is a hazard or how you should deal with it.