Lead Poisoning: Prevention

Many cases of lead poisoning can be prevented. These steps can help:

• Keep the areas where children play as clean and dust-free as possible.
• Wash pacifiers and bottles when they fall to the floor, and wash stuffed animals and toys often.
• Make sure children wash their hands before meals and at bedtime.
• Mop floors and wipe windowsills and other chewable surfaces, such as cribs, twice a week with a solution of powdered dishwasher detergent in warm water.
• Plant bushes next to an older home with painted exterior walls to keep children at a distance.
• Plant grass or another ground cover in soil that is likely to be contaminated, such as soil around a home built before 1960 or located near a major highway.
• Have household tap water tested to find out if it contains lead.
• Use only water from the cold-water tap for drinking, cooking, and making baby formula, since hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead.
• If the cold water hasn't been used for six hours or more, run it for several seconds, until it becomes as cold as it will get, before using it for drinking or cooking. The more time water has been sitting in the pipes, the more lead it may contain.
• If you work with lead in your job or hobby, change your clothes before you go home.
• Do not store food in open cans, especially imported cans.
• Do not store or serve food in pottery meant for decorative use.

— Linda Wasmer Smith