Lead dust is a significant source of lead exposure for children and adults. Lead poisoning can cause lifelong health problems, including developmental delays, learning disabilities, hearing loss, and behavioral disorders. Children are especially at risk for lead poisoning because their bodies and brains are still developing.
Lead can enter the body in several ways:
- Ingestion: when you eat or drink something that contains lead (e.g., chips from a painted wall)
- Inhalation: when you breathe in particles that contain lead (e.g., dust from a painted wall)
- Absorption through the skin: when you touch surfaces that contain lead (e.g., toys made with contaminated materials)
Where Lead Dust is Found and Where it Comes From
Many people are surprised to learn that lead dust can be found in a wide variety of places, including:
- Carpets
- Upholstery
- Ceilings and walls (usually from peeling paint)
- Floors (from old linoleum floors)
- Cabinets and tables (usually because of chipped or flaking paint)
- chipping, peeling or wearing lead-based paint on inside and outside surfaces.
- rubbing of painted surfaces like windows and doors
- renovation, remodeling, or repainting activities.
- certain activities or hobbies
- on the clothing of workers exposed to lead
Lead dust can also be produced by outside sources such as soil or dust carried inside on the feet of animals or humans or picked up by wind.
- scraping or aging of outside lead-based paint.
- past use of additives in gasoline
- industrial sources
- paint removal from buildings and steel structures.
- demolition
- paint removal from buildings and steel structures.
How to Plan and Prepare for Lead Dust Removal
Planning for lead dust removal is a critical component of the process. It’s different than other types of cleaning and requires a lot more planning and preparation. Lead is particularly dangerous to clean with, so take time to make sure you have everything you need before beginning your work.
- First, figure out what kind of work needs to be done. Are there just some areas that need extra attention? Or does the entire building need to be cleaned from top to bottom?
- Second, put together an equipment list based on these findings:
- Cleaning supplies (such as mops and buckets)
- Protective clothing (gloves)
- Respiratory protection (masks)
What is the best way to safely clean lead dust?
Different ways of removing lead paint create different risks to health, which need to be properly controlled. Safe methods include:
Wet scraping
- Risk: Dust may be produced during the scraping process if paint is not wet properly, spreading flakes of paint around the worksite.
- Control:
- Wear a half-face respirator with P2 particulate filter during removal and clean up.
- Use a plastic drop sheet that has the edges raised with wooden studs to collect water.
- Collect paint debris properly.
Chemical strippers
- Risk:
- Some strippers contain flammable solvents which can burn the skin or produce vapors that are highly toxic.
- Even after chemical stripping has been done, sanding after this method may still produce lead dust.
- Control:
- Wear a half-face respirator for organic vapors, safety glasses, overalls, and chemically resistant gloves. If further sanding is required after applying a chemical stripper, wear a combined particulate and organic vapor filtration cartridge respirator.
- Consult the SDS for further information.
- Ensure the area is well-ventilated.
Wet hand sanding
- Risk: Dust may be produced if the paint is not wet properly before sanding. The fine lead residue is left after the water dries.
- Control:
- Wear a half-face respirator with P2 particulate filter during removal and clean up.
- Use a plastic drop sheet that has the edges raised with wooden studs to collect water.
- Wash down surfaces carefully.
Dry power sanding with HEPA vacuum attachment sanding
- Risk: Lead dust may be generated if the shroud of the sander extends beyond the surface being sanded or if the sander is not kept flat on the surface.
- Control:
- Training and experience.
- Hire a vacuum cleaner from HireaVac
What equipment do I need for lead dust removal?
You will need the following equipment:
- Dust Mask
- HEPA vacuum cleaner (Like Dirt Eater Jr. or Dirt Eater)
- Gloves
- Nitrile gloves or vinyl gloves (for handling old sheets and curtains)
- Goggles or safety glasses protect your eyes from any debris that may be kicked up in the process of removing dust, especially when cleaning hard surfaces (e.g., wood floors).
- Full-body coveralls/apron: This one is optional, but I think it’s worth getting some sort of full-body coverall that will keep all of your clothes clean so that when you go outside after vacuuming up all those dust particles inside your house, there won’t be any need for extra washing – just throw on whatever clothes were worn during cleanup and go about your post-cleanup business!
How often do I need to clean up lead dust?
How often you need to clean up lead dust depends on the severity of your contamination problem. If you are a homeowner and have only been exposed to low levels of lead dust, then you can clean it every 3-6 months. It’s best to check for contamination on a regular basis, especially if your home has children or pets that could be in contact with lead dust on a daily basis.
If exposure is greater than low levels, then you may need to clean more frequently – perhaps monthly or weekly – depending on how long ago your last cleanup was and how much time has passed since then.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you should be able to clean up lead dust. You will know where it comes from, what it looks like, and how to safely remove it from your home or office.
For More Information Please
LEAD PAINT REMOVAL GUIDANCE DOCUMENT –
- https://services.anu.edu.au/files/guidance/QMS-FS-GUI-20-019_Rev%200_Lead%20Paint%20Removal%20Guidance%20Document_20190913.pdf
- https://lead.org.au/fs/fst37.html
- https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/safety-topic/hazards/lead/overview
