Lead-Safe Wisconsin: Prevention and Intervention for Childhood Lead Exposure

Young children are most at risk for harmful effects of lead. Lead exposure can affect health, growth, behavior, and learning, which can impact success in school and later in life. These resources provide an overview of the damaging effects of lead on children:

• Intellectual Impairment in Children with Blood Lead Concentrations below 10 µg per Deciliter
• Addressing Toxic Chemical Influences on Developmental Disabilities
• National Center for Healthy Housing

Home maintenance

There is no safe level of lead in the body. That’s why protecting kids from lead exposure is critical. It is important to check your home for chipping and peeling lead-based paint and other lead hazards.

Common home renovation work, such as repairs and painting, can disturb lead-based paint. This can create hazardous lead dust, which can harm adults and children. Even a small amount of lead dust is enough to put your family at risk.

Find more information on the Check and Maintain Your Home for Lead page.

More resources on preventing lead poisoning exposure in the home

• How to Prevent Lead Poisoning in Children
• Know the Facts
• Blood Lead Levels in Children
• Help Yourself to a Healthy Home (PDF)
• Look Out for Lead – Parents, P-44535A (English and Spanish)
• Look Out for Lead – Coloring page, P-00819 (English and Spanish)
• Prevent Lead Poisoning, P-00296 (PDF)—This pamphlet explains why you should hire a lead-safe renovator.
• Lead-Safe Renovation Videos—Watch short videos on how to safely set up and clean renovation worksites, use personal protective equipment (PPE), and test for lead in paint.
• Certified Company List—Make sure your renovation or abatement company is on our list.
• The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right (PDF)
  The Lead-Safe Certified Guide to Renovate Right - Spanish version (PDF)—Learn about lead-safe renovation.
• Lead-Safe Renovations for DIYers—Learn DIY lead-safe work practices.

Nutrition

Regular, well-balanced meals are important for children’s growth and development. Research has found that getting enough iron in a child’s diet can help lower the amount of lead they absorb. That’s important because lead exposure and iron deficiency can both harm a child’s development.

Eligible families of children with lead poisoning can receive nutritional support from WIC (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children). Wisconsin has WIC offices across the state. Find contact information for your local WIC office.

More resources on nutrition related to lead poisoning

• 5 Things You Can Do to Help Lower Your Child’s Lead Level
• 5 Things You Can Do to Help Lower Your Child’s Lead Level – Spanish version (PDF)

Lead poisoning doesn’t typically cause noticeable symptoms. The only way to know if a child has experienced lead poisoning is through a blood lead test. Read about Medicaid lead testing requirements, Wisconsin screening recommendations, and what guardians should know about a child’s blood lead results below:

• Lead-Safe Wisconsin: Universal Testing
• Wisconsin Childhood Blood Lead Testing Recommendations, P-03557 (PDF)
• Pediatric Lead Testing and Reporting
• Medicaid Testing Requirements
• Fact Sheet: Childhood Lead Poisoning: What You Should Know About Your Child’s Blood Test Results (PDF)

Lead in paint, the environment, and consumer products

Exposure to lead-based paint is the major source of lead poisoning for children in Wisconsin. Lead was banned from paint for inside and outside use in homes in 1978. Homes built before 1978 can still have lead-based paint in the layers under the surface paint. When the lead-based paint deteriorates or is disturbed through renovation lead dust is created. Young children are then likely to swallow the dust through normal hand-to-mouth activity.

Lead can also be found in air, soil, and water. Learn more about where lead is commonly found in Wisconsin and how people are exposed.

Sometimes lead is in items like toys, jewelry, spices, cosmetics, traditional medicines, cookware, and ceramic glazes. Learn about these other sources of lead.

Lead from parents’ occupations or hobbies

For adults, the workplace can be a primary site of exposure. Adults may work with products containing lead, or in areas where lead dust or fumes are produced. Lead is commonly found in industries, such as construction, manufacturing, and transportation.

Workers can be exposed to lead when:

• Working with lead solder or melting lead in a furnace or pot.
• Sanding or sandblasting areas coated with lead paint, causing lead dust.
• Torching areas coated with lead paint, causing lead fumes.
• Cutting or soldering metal, causing lead fumes.

Workers can bring lead home with them on their clothes, hair, or shoes. Take-home lead is a source of exposure for children in the home.

If you work with or near lead, the best way to keep lead dust out of your home is to keep it from leaving work. Read Keep Your Family Safe: Don’t Bring Lead Home from Your Job, P-01737 (PDF), to learn how adults can protect themselves and their families.

Learn more about prevention and intervention of adult lead exposure from the Adult Lead Program.

Lead is recognized as toxic to all reproductive systems. If a person has lead in their blood during pregnancy, their developing baby can also be exposed. Lead in the blood during pregnancy can increase risk of:

• Miscarriage.
• Preterm delivery.
• Delivering a low birth-weight baby.
• Learning or behavior problems for the child.

Additional resources

• Are you Pregnant?
  This CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) document contains information and actions that pregnant people can take to keep themselves and their babies safe from lead poisoning.
• Information on Lead and Breastfeeding—This CDC webpage provides guidance on breastfeeding if an individual has been exposed to lead.
• Guidelines for the Identification and Management of Lead Exposure in Pregnant and Lactating Women (PDF) —This CDC document contains scientific data and practical considerations for preventing lead exposure during pregnancy. It also includes information on assessing and testing for blood lead poisoning during pregnancy, and follow-up recommendations for babies who were exposed to lead in the uterus.
• Local public health departments in Wisconsin—These departments can help pregnant people get prenatal care and newborn services.
• WIC offices in Wisconsin—These offices help eligible pregnant people and new mothers with prenatal nutrition and breastfeeding.