Lead-Safe Wisconsin: Sources of Lead

Lead is a toxic metal.

Until recently, companies commonly used lead in paint, plumbing materials, gasoline, and household products. The United States now bans or limits lead in these products, but lead is still around us.

Lead can be in the old paint, dust, pipes, and soil in or around older homes and buildings. Products like toys, pottery, and makeup from other countries can also contain lead. Risks also exist for some jobs and hobbies.

To prevent lead poisoning, it is important to know how to identify a potential hazard.

You can't know if a child was exposed to or poisoned by lead just by finding it in your environment. Often, young children don't show the impacts of lead poisoning until later in life.

The only way to know if a child has been affected by lead is by getting them tested.

Learn more about getting a child tested for lead

Common sources of lead

Lead from paint, dust, soil, and water in and around your home can be dangerous if not managed properly.

On this page, learn about potential sources of lead in:

• Lead-Based Paint and Dust
• Soil, Yards, and Playgrounds
• Drinking Water
• Jobs and Workplaces
• Hobbies
• Folk Remedies and Imported Products
• Food

For more information about protecting yourself and your family from exposure to lead, visit other Lead-Safe Wisconsin Pages:

• How to Make Your Home Lead-Safe
• Learn more about getting a child tested for lead.
• Contact the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program

Lead-based paint and dust

In Wisconsin, exposure to lead-based paint and dust is the most common cause of lead poisoning in children.

Lead-based paint was used in homes and businesses until 1978, when it was finally banned. This means that any home built before 1978 likely contains lead paint.

Lead paint can be found on any painted surface. Common high-risk locations are:

• Bannisters.
• Door frames.
• Windowsills.
• Baseboards.
• Anything a child can access.

When lead-based paint peels, chips, or is disturbed in some way (such as during renovation or when you open a window), it creates dangerous lead dust.

Important note: Lead can also be found in old shellac. Just because a surface isn't painted doesn't mean it's not a hazard.

Why is lead dust so dangerous?

Even small amounts of dust (too small to see) can be enough to poison a child. Here's why lead dust is so dangerous:

 It's invisible.

You can't see, smell, or taste lead dust. It's very easy to overlook.

 It spreads easily.

Lead dust settles on floors, toys, furniture, and windowsills, so it can get picked up during normal daily activities like crawling, playing, and eating.

 It harms young children.

Kids under 6 are most likely to put their hands and toys in their mouths. They are also still growing and developing. Their bodies absorb lead more easily than adults.

 It builds up over time.

Even the smallest amount of lead dust can build up and cause serious harm if a child is exposed to it frequently.

 It can come from many sources.

Chipping or pealing lead paint, renovation work, contaminated soil, and lead brought home from a job can all increase lead dust levels.

Soil, yards, and playgrounds

Soil can absorb and hold onto lead for decades. In Wisconsin, lead commonly enters the soil via lead-based paint, historic use of leaded gasoline, or industrial emissions.

Be careful when playing outside. Children playing in bare dirt or gardens could get exposed to lead. This happens when they touch or accidentally consume lead-contaminated soil.

The only way to know if your soil is contaminated with lead is to test it.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a soil lead hazard as 400 parts per million (ppm) in play areas and 1,200 ppm average for bare soil in the rest of the yard.

Learn more here: Protect Your Family from Sources of Lead

Drinking water

Lead in drinking water commonly comes from lead pipes, plumbing, or fixtures. Homes built before 1986 are most at-risk of having lead plumbing materials. That said, fixtures like faucets could have contained up to 8% lead by weighted average until 2014. In 2014, the allowable amount was lowered to 0.25% lead by weighted average.

Even if water looks, smells, and tastes clean, if may still carry lead. The longer water sits in pipes without running, the more lead it can pick up. Because of this, infants who drink formula mixed with unfiltered tap water are at higher risk for lead exposure.

There are many ways to make your drinking water safer. To learn more, visit How to Make Your Home Lead-Safe.

More resources:

• Drinking Water: Lead
• Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water.

The Lead-in-Water Testing and Remediation Initiative

Are you a child care provider? We currently offer free lead-in-water testing and plumbing remediation for licensed child care and Head Start facilities.

Learn more on the Lead-in-Water Testing and Remediation Initiative webpage.

Jobs and workplaces

Parents or caregivers who work around lead—such as jobs in construction, painting, plumbing, battery manufacturing, or metalwork—can accidentally bring lead dust home on their clothes and skin.

Even if a child never steps foot on a job site, they can still be exposed.

Young children can come into contact with this dust by:

• Sitting on a caregiver's lab before they've showered or changed.
• Playing on contaminated floors or furniture.
• Touching work clothes, gear, or bags stored at home.

Don't expose a child to dangerous lead dust. Here are some actions that you can take to avoid bringing lead dust into your home:

• Change your clothes and shoes before leaving work.
• Shower at work, if possible, or immediately after arriving home.
• Keep your work gear out of living areas.
• Never wash your work clothes with family laundry.

For workers concerned about lead exposures on the job

More resources and testing information are available through the Adult Lead Program.

Hobbies

Some hobbies involve direct handling of materials containing lead, such as:

• Stained glass.
• Pottery.
• Bullet casings.
• Lead fishing sinkers.

Children in homes where these hobbies take place may be exposed to lead. Exposure can happen through shared surfaces, tools, or dust.

Don't expose yourself or a child to lead. Here are some actions that you can take to avoid exposing yourself or a child to lead:

• Never put leaded materials (such as fishing sinkers or pottery glazes) in your mouth.
• Use proper ventilation and equipment when melting lead to cast your own bullets, sinkers, decoys, or metal items.
• Keep all work and hobby materials away from living areas.

For more information, visit:

• About Lead in Jobs, Hobbies, or Other Activities - CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Lead in Venison

Folk remedies and imported products

Some traditional remedies, cosmetics, and cultural items from outside of the U.S. have been found to contain dangerously high levels of lead. These products may not be regulated by U.S. safety standards. Lead can be added intentionally, or it can contaminate ingredients during manufacturing.

Items of concern include:

Kohl, Kaja, and Surma.

Traditional eye cosmetics used in some South Asian, Middle Eastern, and African cultures.

Sindoor or ceremonial powders.

These are often used in religious or cultural practices.

Ayurvedic and folk remedies.

Some folk remedies contain lead, such as:

• Greta and azarcon, used to treat upset stomach.
• Nzu, poto, and calabash chalk, used to treat morning sickness.

Imported pottery and cookware.

Certain kitchenware may be coated in lead-based glaze that can get into food and drinks.

Even small amounts of lead from these products can cause harm, especially in young children. Always check product labels, buy from reputable sources, and check the FDA's Webpage on Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts.

Food

It's not common for lead to be found in food products. However, occasional recalls show that it can happen. When lead does get into food, it can affect young children the most.

In recent years, lead contamination has been found in:

Applesauce pouches.

Several brands were recalled after testing found high lead levels traced back to contaminated cinnamon.

Learn more here: Elevated Lead & Chromium Levels: Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches.

Cinnamon products.

Multiple cinnamon products, including some bulk cinnamon sold in stores or used in flavored snacks, were found to contain unsafe levels of lead.

Learn more here: FDA Public Health Alert: Ground Cinnamon Product.

Packaged baby foods.

Fruit purees and root vegetables can absorb lead from soil or processing equipment.

Find current information on recalls on the Recalls, Market Withdrawals, and Safety Alerts webpage.

Deer shot with lead bullets.

Shooting deer with lead bullets can leave behind tiny lead fragments in the meat. These lead fragments can be distributed throughout the meat during processing and may be too small to feel or see.

Limit eating venison that was shot with lead bullets if you or a child are in an at-risk group, such as children under 6 or pregnant women.

Learn more on the DHS Lead in Venison webpage.

Questions?

Reach out to Wisconsin's Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program.