Your home's age important for child lead exposure

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FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006 file photo, contractors clean up lead paint at a contaminated building in Providence, R.I. The risk of lead-based paint from older homes is back in the news, as the U.S. government considers tightening the definition of lead poisoning in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Lower levels than previously thought may harm their developing brains. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File) FILE - In this Thursday, Feb. 23, 2006 file photo, contractors clean up lead paint at a contaminated building in Providence, R.I. The risk of lead-based paint from older homes is back in the news, as the U.S. government considers tightening the definition of lead poisoning in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Lower levels than previously thought may harm their developing brains. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File)eval("var currentItemd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 1;");eval("var nextd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;");eval("var previousd57851005a80479aaeeb90a12c70b9ff = 0;"); WASHINGTON (AP) — If you've been putting off repairing a peeling windowsill, or you're thinking of knocking out a wall, listen up: Check how old your house is. You may need to take steps to protect your kids from dangerous lead.

The risk of lead-based paint from older homes is back in the news, as the government considers tightening the definition of lead poisoning in babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Lower levels than previously thought may harm their developing brains.

That's a scary-sounding message. But from a practical standpoint, it's not clear how much would change if the government follows that advice. Already there's been a big drop in childhood lead poisoning in the U.S. over the past few decades. Public health programs have targeted the youngsters most at risk — poor children living in crumbling housing, mostly in cities — to try to get them tested and their homes cleaned up.

But specialists say it can be a risk in more affluent areas, too, as do-it-yourselfers embark on fix-ups without knowing anything about an environmental hazard that long ago faded from the headlines.

The main value of the proposed change may be in increasing awareness of how to avoid lead in everyday life.

"What we need to do is prevent the exposure in the first place," said Dr. Nicholas Newman, who directs the environmental health and lead clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

There are lots of ways people can be exposed to lead: Soil polluted from the leaded gasoline of yesteryear. Old plumbing with lead solder. Improperly using lead-glazed pottery or leaded crystal with food. Certain jobs that expose workers to the metal. Hobbies like refinishing old painted furniture.

Sometimes even imported toys or children's jewelry can have illegal lead levels, prompting recalls if they're caught on the U.S. market.

But the main way that U.S. children are exposed is from layers of old paint in buildings built before 1978, when lead was banned from residential paint.

Sure, the walls might have been painted over recently, and there may be no obvious paint chips to attract a tot crawling around on the floor. But friction from opening and closing windows and doors allows tiny leaded particles to make their way into household dust — and youngsters then get it on their hands that go into their mouths, explained Dr. John Rosen, a lead poisoning specialist at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

Very high lead levels can cause coma, convulsions, even death, fortunately a rarity today. But lower levels, especially in children under 6, can harm a child's brain, can reduce IQ and cause other learning, attention and behavioral problems — without any obvious symptoms to alert the parent.

How much is too much? Until now, the definition of lead poisoning in young children was 10 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood. But in a draft report last fall, the National Toxicology Program analyzed recent scientific research to conclude there's good evidence that levels lower than 10 are a risk. Now advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are urging that agency to lower the definition to 5 micrograms for now, periodically reassessing.

If the CDC agrees, its advisers estimated that could classify about 450,000 children with lead poisoning, up from roughly 250,000 today.

At these levels, there's no treatment for the child other than to end the ongoing exposure — clean up the house, Newman stressed. That's why prevention is so important. And while the youngest children are the most vulnerable, lead's not good for anyone's brain, so he advises taking common-sense precautions before potential exposures like renovating an old home.

What should families do? Here's advice from the Environmental Protection Agency and public health agencies:

—Check the age of your house. At checkups for babies through age 5, pediatricians are supposed to ask if you live in a home built before 1960, or one built before 1978 that's recently undergone renovation. The answers help guide who may need a blood test to check lead levels. Some states require testing of toddlers on Medicaid.

—Wash kids' hands before they eat, good advice no matter where you live or how old your house.

—Clean up paint chips immediately, and regularly wash toys that tots put in their mouths.

—Regularly wash windowsills and floors where paint dust can collect.

—If you're planning repairs or renovation in an old building, use lead-certified contractors who must follow EPA rules to minimize exposure from the work and can perform quality tests to see if your old paint really contains lead.

—If you rent and have peeling paint, notify your landlord. Many cities and states have lead-abatement rules, and programs to contact for help.

—Aside from paint, take off shoes at the door, to minimize tracking in lead-tainted soil.

—Use only cold water for drinking, cooking and making baby formula, and run it for 15 to 30 seconds. Hot tap water can pick up more lead from older plumbing than cold water.

___

Online:

EPA lead information: http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm#hazard

Associated Press

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BPA Exposure in Pregnant Women May Affect Daughters' Behavior

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A new study finds that exposure to bisphenol A before birth may lead to behavior problems in girls by age 3. The findings, published in Pediatrics, promise to heat up the debate over the safety of BPA, the ubiquitous chemical found in water bottles, linings of cans and even on the register receipts we get at the checkout stand.

Led by Joe Braun, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, the study suggests that exposure to BPA, especially in developing fetuses, may be long-lasting. Among a group of 244 mothers and their 3-year-olds whose BPA levels were measured in their urine, moms who had higher BPA levels during pregnancy were more likely to have children who were aggressive, anxious and hyperactive and showed poor emotional control, compared with moms with lower levels of BPA. The children's own BPA levels did not have an effect on their behavior patterns.

MORE: Pregnant Women Awash in Chemicals. Is That Bad for Baby?

The results highlight how important the pregnancy period is to early brain development, and suggest that there are critical windows during which exposure to chemicals like BPA can perhaps permanently influence a child's emotional and behavioral state. "It's possible that the brain is more vulnerable to the effects of BPA during certain parts of pregnancy, such as the early stages, and not as vulnerable later," says Braun. "Certain events take place in the brain, and once they take place, they are done."

Earlier studies in animals have linked BPA exposure in the womb to aggressive and anxious behavior among offspring, and studies in young children have linked the chemical to asthma.

The scientists tested pregnant women for BPA at 16 and 26 weeks gestation and at birth. Their children were tested annually until age 3. About 97% of the moms and children showed some BPA in their urine, confirming previous data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which show that nearly all Americans have a measurable amount of the chemical in their systems.

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The results held strong even after the researchers adjusted for other possible contributors to the children's behavior, such as breast-feeding, mother's education, depression and marital status, and possible study confounders such as differences in the strength of the urine samples. The results were the first to look at how BPA may affect executive functions of the brain, which regulate reasoning and planning as well as control of emotions. For every 10-fold increase in the mothers' gestational BPA concentrations, the children showed a 9-to-12-point increase in impulsivity and a lack of emotional control.

"The data suggest that at exposures that humans are typically exposed to, there seems to be an effect of BPA on behavior," says Braun.

The effect was more striking in girls than in boys, which hints at differences in the hormonal factors that may regulate development of executive and behavioral activities of the brain. Girls in the study were more than twice as likely as boys to show anxiety and depression if their mothers had been exposed to BPA. It's possible that BPA may be boosting levels of the hormone estradiol in female fetuses, disrupting the normal sexual differentiation of the brain, leading it to become more masculine. In animal studies, the female hormone estradiol has been shown to convert to testosterone in males, resulting in masculinization.

MORE: Even 'BPA-Free' Plastics Leach Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

Braun says it's not exactly clear yet why BPA may affect girl and boys differently, but he is hoping to investigate these results further to find out. More studies will also reveal whether there is a threshold level of BPA that triggers these changes in fetal brain development.

In the meantime, how should an expectant mom reduce her exposure to BPA? The Food and Drug Administration stands by its claim that current use of the chemical in food packaging is safe, but Braun says moms-to-be may reduce their exposure by avoiding canned and packaged foods. Whether or not pregnant women should also avoid handling thermal register receipts is less clear; there's a study currently underway that is investigating whether day-to-day handling of these receipts can significantly increase exposure. "To be precautionary," Braun says, especially for those who work at registers, "it's reasonable to wear gloves."

MORE: Dirty Money: Traces of BPA Found on Currency

Alice Park is a writer at TIME. Find her on Twitter at @aliceparkny. You can also continue the discussion on TIME's Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

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