Lead – Metropolitan Tenants Organization

Lead – FAQ

Posted on September 15, 2024September 19, 2024 by admin

Know the facts about lead:

What is lead? Lead is a heavy metal that is harmful to your health.
Where is lead found? The most common sources of lead are found in the home! Chipping paint and dust in homes built prior to 1978, tap water, soil and some toys and jewelry are the most common sources of lead. You can’t always see lead, even when it is present.
What amount of lead is safe? Lead in the body is not safe at ANY level. It only takes a very small amount to cause life-long health problems, including learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and other health issues.
What are the long-term effects of lead poisoning? Lead can damage organs, stunt neurological development and may even cause death.
What are some of the warning signs of lead poisoning? Stomach pains, constipation, poor appetite, sleep problems, headaches, issues with sleeping.
How do I know if I have lead in my home? If your home was built prior to 1978, there is a good chance there is lead in your home but the only way to positively identify lead is with testing. The Department of Health offers free testing if your child has recently been found with elevated levels of lead.
Who’s responsible for addressing lead sources in the home? The landlord is responsible. Under federal law, at the start of a tenancy, the landlord must provide tenants with a lead disclosure form that details any known lead hazard in your unit or the common areas and a copy of the EPA booklet “Protect Your Family from Lead in your Home“. Under 2004 Childhood Lead Prevention Act, the landlord must also post a notice if a lead hazard has been found in another unit. That notice must remain posted until all documented hazards are properly repaired.
What if the landlord refuses to address lead sources? Call the Renter’s Hotline at 773-292-4988 M-F, 1-5pm or call the city of Chicago’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program at 312.747.LEAD[5323]. You may request an inspection. If the landlord refuses to make repairs and old paint is pulling away from the wall, cracking, chipping or peeling and it is a code violation, you can give the landlord a 14-day written notice to reduce your rent. See “Apartment Repairs and Conditions“
What can I do to reduce the risk of exposure?
- Ask your doctor to test your child for lead
- Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe windows
- Remove shoes when entering the home
- Teach your children to wash their hands before eating
- Do not use pottery for cooking or serving without knowing if the glaze has lead
- Do not disturb paint without protecting your family from the dust
- Feed your child a diet high in iron, calcium and vitamin C – all help fight lead in the child’s body
- Test your water for lead and use a EPA approved filter
- Test soil around home and do not plant a garden before confirming that soil is safe
- Regularly check recall lists for toys, jewelry and other household items which may have lead

Still can’t find the answer? Send us your questions. Please allow several days for a response. Or to speak with a Healthy Homes Organizer, call 773.292.4980 ext. 225.

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 23-29th

Posted on October 24, 2011January 13, 2024 by admin

National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week is October 23-29th, 2011. Children under age 6 are most at risk for lead poisoning. You can prevent lead poisoning by getting your home tested, getting your child tested and getting the facts.

Lead is a metal that is found in many places. You can’t always see lead, even when it is present in substances like paint, dust, or dirt.
Lead in the body is not safe at any level. It only takes a very small amount to cause damage.
Childhood lead poisoning can lead to life-long health problems, including learning disabilities, increased need for special education and higher crime rates. Lead harms the brain, making it harder for children to learn and can cause behavioral problems.
Most children do not have any physical symptoms. Warning signs include: stomach pains, constipation, poor appetite, sleep problems, irritability, headaches, weakness, or loss of a recently learned skill.
Children are most often exposed to lead in their home and at places they visit.
Lead was added to paint until 1978.
In housing built before 1978, assume that the paint has led unless tests show otherwise.
Children eat lead by getting lead on their hands and then putting their hands in their mouth.
Make sure your child does not have access to peeling paint or chew-able surfaces painted with lead-based paint by creating barriers between living/play areas and lead sources. You can temporarily apply contact paper or duct tape to cover spaces with sources of lead.
Regularly wash your children’s hands and toys. Both can become contaminated from household dust or exterior soil.
Regularly wet-mop floors and wet-wipe windows–dry-dust, sweeping or vacuuming will spread lead dust.
Wipe dirt off shoes before coming inside your home.
Whenever new exposures to lead may have occurred, have your child tested.
DO NOT disturb paint without protecting your family from the dust that occurs during abatement.
Feed your child 3 healthy meals a day–a diet high in iron, calcium and Vitamin C will help fight any lead in a child’s body.
Do not use pottery for cooking or serving until you are sure of its glaze. Pottery can be contaminated with lead.
Draw drinking water and cooking water only from the cold tap. Let it run for a few minutes first.
Teach your child to wash their hands before eating.

The City of Chicago provides FREE lead inspections to homes with children under 6 years old and/or with children under 6 who frequently visit, call 311 and ask for lead inspection TODAY.

For information about tenants’ rights: call Megan Borneman, MTO Healthy Homes Organizer… 773-292-4980 ext. 231

For resources available to Chicago residents: call the Chicago Department of Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention… 312-747-LEAD (5323)

For resources available to non-Chicago residents in Cook County: call the Cook County Lead Prevention Program… 708-492-2076

Extremely High Levels of Lead Detected in Pilsen Air

Posted on April 1, 2011January 13, 2024 by admin

MTO’s offices are located directly across the street from the Fisk Generating Station and very near Perez Elementary School.

New monitoring data obtained by the Tribune reveal that high levels of toxic lead frequently lingered in the air last year outside an elementary school in the predominantly Latino enclave that is attended by nearly 500 children.

Average lead levels at Perez Elementary School were at or above federal limits during three three-month periods in 2010, the data show. Lead pollution exceeded health standards during a fifth of the days monitored and, on one day in December, spiked more than 10 times higher — findings that alarm even veteran investigators.