Miscellaneous Lead Facts

Miscellaneous lead facts

• In children, up to 40 percent of lead circulates through tissue and organs, where it does damage.
• Research indicates that a little over six millionths of a gram of lead a day is sufficient for a child's body to begin stockpiling lead (a gram equals about 1/28 of an ounce). Based on research done on New Orleans yards, children playing in contaminated yards in east Omaha could be coming indoors with 10 times that amount on their hands.
• Based on tests done thus far, most yards in east Omaha will not require cleanup. However, the EPA calculates that at least 5 in 100 children playing in contaminated yards are likely to ingest harmful amounts of lead.
• Most children do not have lead poisoning, but lead is so prevalent that all children should be considered at risk.
• Nationally, an estimated 434,000 children have elevated levels of lead in their blood, about 2.2 percent of children ages 5 and younger.
• Lead is a naturally occurring bluish-gray metal. It is odorless and tasteless. It can be found throughout our environment and is common in soil, but not the levels that exist in many east Omaha yards.
• Most of the 250,000 homes built in Nebraska before 1950 are likely to contain lead paint.