Should I be concerned about lead exposure, living in a 100 year old apartment?!


Question:

Should I be concerned about lead exposure, living in a 100 year old apartment?

My girlfriend and I have been living in the apt 3 years. My landlord remodeled the entire place before we moved in, but in some places, the paint is cracked on the woodwork. The building was built, originally, in 1901, but has since been remodeled several times, finally into apartment. Should I be concerned about lead poisoning? Can I purchase tests online (insurance is emergency only)?


Answers:

Short answer to this is yes. Because even with remodeling, they may not have stripped off all the old lead based paint. Even though most lead poisioning is caused by ingestion of old paint (by young children) the pulverized and aersolized dust of the old paint is being inhaled by you and your g.f. However, testing for lead levels is a relatively simple blood test you can get done at almost any good lab and I don't believe it's that costly (less than $50 per person would be my guess).
Only if the bldg was stripped of all it's old lead paint using a company that specializes in hazardous waste removal would you be assured that there was no lead dust residue left behind. As this is a very expensive proposition for the landlord, chances are this was not done. Nor are they required to do it by law in most municipalities.




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