A national audience will have an opportunity to visit a little cabin near Lake Edward. The danger is lead poisoning, possibly the worst environmental health problem affecting children today, health specialists say. Threats to children and fetuses include irreversible brain damage, impaired mental functioning, retarded mental and physical development, and reduced attention span. In women and men, it can cause nerve damage and reproductive problems.
Young children can get lead poisoning by eating paint chips.
Anyone can get it from ingesting or inhaling lead dust created by deteriorating paint. Lead can be disturbed when surfaces are sanded or stripped, during home renovations, or from simply opening and closing a window. Although lead was banned for use in paint in 1978, it may be on any interior or exterior surface in older homes, particularly on woodwork, doors, and windows. Federal and local officials are cracking down on landlords who did not warn their tenants about lead in paint, as required by the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. Legal action has been taken against 50 landlords in 20 cities since last August.