How Do Children Become Lead-Poisoned?

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Paint in poor condition is usually the source of childhood lead poisoning in Iowa. Household dust in older homes often contains lead from old paint. This dust gets on children’s hands, toys, bottles and pacifiers. Children can be lead poisoned if they:

  • Put dusty or dirty hands, toys, bottles or pacifiers in their mouths.   
  • Breathe in dust from lead-based paint that is being disturbed.

The soil around older homes may also be contaminated with lead-based paint chips or dust. Children may be come lead poisoned if they:   

  • Play in dirt or a sandbox near an old building or where an old building was torn down.
  • Put the dirt or sand in their mouths.   
  • Put their hands or toys that have been in the dirt or sandbox in their mouths.

In Iowa, lead-based paint chips and dust found between the inside window sash and the screen/storm window cause many cases of childhood lead poisoning. 

Gloved hand scraping peeling white paint from a wooden window sill with a metal scraper.

This can occur when:

  • Children who are teething chew on windowsills.
  • Paint chips and dust sticks to a child’s hands and toys, which are then put into the child’s mouth.

If renovation work is being performed on a home built before 1960, children and pregnant women should leave the area before repair work begins and should be prohibited from returning to the area until the work area has been completely cleaned.

Many original windows in homes built before 1960 have peeling or chipping lead based paint in this area.