Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Lead paint in the US vs. the rest of the world

I just thought Id post a little information on lead paint since I am forced to comply with the new lead laws and certifications required to perform work on homes built prior to 1978. Though paint companies knew about the dangers of lead in paint (which causes irreversible brain damage in children) as early as the 1930s, the United States did not ban lead paint until 1978.   Paint manufacturers, knowing of the danger,marketed their products as kid-friendly and safe in America, while providing Europe with lead-free paint and protecting farm animals from the effects of lead poisoning.  The paint companies, fully aware of the health effects, profited immensely from their deadly paint.  Moreover,  most of these companies are still in business today  and continue to profit from their past misdeeds.   At the same time, many children live in pre-1978 housing and are therefore tragically at risk for lead poisoning.  State and local governments have borne substantial costs enforcing safety measures that protect children from being poisoned. It just amazes me at what companies will be okay with just to get a little more profit. Selling it to our own people and having a  different product for the rest of the world.

29 comments:

  1. very interesting, thanks for sharing

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  2. Yeah, another problem with this is that over time, the homes switched hands, and as they got older the value went down. As such, a lot of families living in homes with lead paint can't always afford to remove and repaint the house. I know my sisters house still has asbestos siding. It's not of immediate threat to anyone as it is, but if ingested it can be harmful.

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  3. My home has 3 layers of paint on, beige with lead paint and white on top of white. When we had to repaint our walls we had to make sure we did not sand to the beige! I cant believe that companies would actually do this to its consumers.

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  4. Yes, it is sad. Even at the cost of lives, and future generations companies will try to profit from it before their method is prohibited by law.

    This is a good post, fortunately I live in a home built in the 1990s, a lot of new homes are building up in my area so I believe I'm a little more safe.

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  5. Profit is all companies care about, at least your local government is trying to enforce some safety.

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  6. unfortunately people think it is not harmful but by putting one nail hole to hang a picture in a wall with lead paint creates enough lead dust to stunt brain growth of an infant.

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  7. people just don't care enough about this things as they should. thanks for sharing.

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  8. Thanks for sharing, this is very interesting.

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  9. great, i have to look up how old my home is D:

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  10. I hate to use lead even when I am fishing with fishing rod .

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  11. @bulk
    ya I think back on all those lead sinkers I put on a line with my teeth when I was a kid. Holy shit.

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  12. Oh that sucks..thank you for the info!

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  13. i wounder if those percentages go for Australia as well. might want to make sure the next place i move to is lead free.

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  14. well my house was built in 1920 or something and im also outside the US so yeah

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  15. didn't know that, thanks for the information

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  16. I didn't know they were still allowed to make lead paint.

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  17. damn I think I grew up in an old house. I hope I'm alright

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  18. That's just evil. No grey area here.

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  19. Interesting stuff. Thanks for the post.

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  20. It's similar where my parents are from, East Germany, where asbestos was used for construction. Same in the US i think, where it was banned in 1978 as well. Interesting post.

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  21. i know a guy who ate lead paint as a child. he cant talk right, its pretty funny to watch him try.

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  22. I agree that business companies do act without any moral standarts (or ridiculously low) but what lacks in your post in the statistics (proof) of lead-poisoning in these homes. If you want to be heard, then you have to have a loudspeaker, if you know what I'm saying.

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