Moreover, the standard was not enforced. In 1959, NL Industries acknowledged that it produced interior paints containing more than one percent lead. The fact that the federal government banned lead-based paint in 1978 has not prevented the product from continuing to cause serious damage to children s intelligence and behavior. Lead-based paint takes its toll every day as more children are poisoned, and it will continue to do so unless and until lead hazards are abated. Lead-based paint may no longer be on the shelves, but lead paint hazards in most older housing continue to poison generation after generation of young children.
Property owners are to blame.
Home ownership carries with it responsibilities as well as rights, including the duty to maintain property in safe and habitable condition. Rental property owners properly are held accountable when they endanger children by failing to control lead hazards. However, property owners are not to blame for the fact that the paint in their homes is toxic. The lead industry, which for decades aggressively marketed lead-based paint as safe, bears sole responsibility for the toxic qualities of paint. To date, the lead industry has refused to contribute significant resources to solving the problem it created.