Lead is of serious concern. As lead paint flakes off or is scraped off a home, soil in the surrounding area gets contaminated with lead.
According to the MA Department of Environmental Protection: “Children can become exposed to lead when playing in the dirt or tracking it into the house on their shoes and clothing."”
The Department goes on to say, “During the summer months, when dust is a problem, clean window sills with a damp cloth or sponge once a week.”[1] That’s because it is going THROUGH the window onto the sill.
Government agencies and NGOs all say that kids' toys, if located in a lead-tainted yard:
- should be washed regularly,
- that the shoes worn in the yard shouldn’t go past the welcome mat,
- that clothes worn while working in lead tainted areas should be washed separately
- and of course, wash kids' hands.
The reason is simple – the lead can and does exist at the surface level.
The picture above was taken April 4, 2012. Unfortunately it was taken with a phone while standing inside, so please pardon the quality, but it has not been altered.
Lead paint from that building on the right has contaminated the surrounding soil. That raised garden bed was built so vegetables could be grown safely—after remediation and protection from the existing soil.
Unfortunately, what you see here is that the leaf blower has raised a tremendous quantity of soil and dust and is now blowing it all over my and another neighbor’s yard.
More on lead, its prevalence, and the risk it poses in the next post.
[1] Massachusetts DEP, “Lead Contamination in your Yard.” http://www.mass.gov/dep/toxics/leadcon1.htm
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