Deaths from Lead Exposure Much Higher Than Thought, According to Study

Lead exposure from drinking water can lead to diseases and death.

A new study published earlier this week in “The Lancet Public Health,” a widely-respected health journal, suggests that deaths from lead exposure may number 10 times more than previously expected. Lead exposure from contaminated water utilities, lead pipes, lead paint, lead in the environment and other sources can sicken people of all ages and affect their health. People exposed to lead in Florida cities like Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami may experience a wide range of symptoms and health problems. Leading lead remediation companies across Florida help homeowners, businesses, developers and others identify lead and eliminate this harmful substance from properties.

In Miami neighborhoods and suburbs, residents, property managers, businesses and others can take proactive steps to limit the potential of lead exposure, which can result in damage to multiple organ systems, especially in young children. People can hire experienced, professional, licensed businesses that perform lead removal miami work to test houses, apartment buildings, condominiums, job sites and other locations for lead across the area.  The best lead abatement miami companies use safe and reliable methods to identify sources of lead within structures and in outdoor areas, and then extract the toxic heavy metal.

With multiple military bases, Jacksonville, the largest and most-populous city in Florida, has multiple locations that may have problems with lead contamination. Lead can contaminate armories, shooting ranges and other locations, potentially endangering the health of people who visit such places. Lead paint on walls, railings and other spots across the city could also affect people’s health. Top lead abatement jacksonville companies help to protect people from lead exposure. 

Contact top lead remediation florida companies across the state to proactively fight against lead poisoning and lead exposure. These businesses help customer determine if properties contain sources of lead and get rid of lead that they find.

Lead in Public Housing a Potential Health Risk

Older public housing complexes across South Florida may contain lead paint, potentially affecting people's health.

A recent story about community health centers in Los Angeles talks about the risks of lead exposure in public housing facilities, particularly those built before 1978, when the use of leaded paint largely ceased. If consumed, lead in paint can endanger people’s health, affecting people’s nervous systems, digestive systems, musculoskeletal systems and other bodily systems. The dangers of this toxic heavy metal led to its declining use, but lead left over from the 1970s and earlier can still endanger people’s health. Top lead remediation companies across Florida can help clients, including homeowners, superintendents, property managers and housing authorities, safely deal with this harmful contaminant. Hire companies that provide lead removal miami services to eliminate lead from houses, hotels, apartment complexes, schools and other locations across the city and across Miami-Dade County.

During Florida’s population boom after World War II, many housing complexes went up across the state to serve the growing population. Many of these facilities and complexes, in places like Miami, Tampa Bay, Orlando and Jacksonville, used lead paint on exterior walls, interior walls and other surfaces. Lead paint could also rest on neglected playground equipment, stair handles, boundary walls and other surfaces across such communities. Lead paint chips can most seriously impact the health of young children, who may consume paint chips, unaware of the dangers. Lead poisoning can cause long-terms problems for the nervous systems of developing children. People who suspect that their homes or communities contain lead paint can hire leading lead remediation orlando firms to test for lead and properly get rid of lead.

Lead exposure can result in an array of problems, affecting adults and children, although exposure to lead has the most severe impacts on young children. Lead can impact the development of children’s brains and lower their IQs. Women exposed to lead can pass lead to developing fetuses during pregnancy, according to the World Health Organization. Lead exposure can also result in kidney damage and increased risk of high blood pressure.

Lead in Soil Puts People’s Health at Risk

Lead-contaminated soil may endanger the health of children and adults.

Lead in outdoor spaces, such as people’s backyards, parks and playgrounds, may imperil the health of children and adults across the country. Elevated lead levels in dirt pose significant risks for children, especially young children under the age of six. Kids exposed to dangerous levels of lead may experience mental deficits, developmental delays, behavioral problems and other issues. A recent article details high lead levels in a Brooklyn neighborhood, Greenpoint, tying the lead found in many backyards to substantially higher rates of lead poisoning. Lead in soil may result from industrial uses, the past use of leaded gasoline and lead-based paints and other causes. Parents in many parts of the country feel concerned about lead exposure for their children. In South Florida locations like West Palm Beach, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, can have properties tested for lead by firms that offer lead remediation miami services.

Neighborhoods across South Florida could potentially contain harmful levels of lead in their ground, which can cause health problems for children as well as adults. Lead poisoning can result in abdominal pain, difficulty in concentrating, memory problems, joint pain, muscle pain, headaches and other symptoms. Other symptoms include constipation, appetite loss, irritability, seizures and mood disorders.

Some neighborhoods in and around Miami have also tested at unacceptably high levels of lead. According to the US National Library of Medicine, a 2006 study found residents faced high risks of lead exposure in a number of inner-city neighborhoods. Children playing in contaminated parks and ballfields could face major health challenges due to their exposure to lead-contaminated soil and lead-based paints. Companies that perform lead removal fort lauderdale services can help Miami-area residents determine the level of risk they face from lead and minimize that risk in various ways. Contact top lead abatement south florida businesses across the region to learn more about dealing with lead contamination.

Lead Pipes in Old Homes and Water Systems a Concern for Many

People can potentially get exposed to lead through tap water.

Millions of people across the United States regularly use water that travels through lead pipes. Although relatively safe, the water in many places often tests high for lead levels, higher than recommended, prompting many people to seek solutions to the problem of lead pipes. Lead exposure can prove dangerous to people of all ages, but especially for young children. Lead can damage the nervous systems and other organ systems of children, causing developmental delays, behavioral problems, diseases and other problems. Some South Florida residents, especially those who live in older neighborhoods, may have to contend with lead-related problems. To test for the presence of lead in your home, hire a licensed business that performs lead remediation miami work.

Municipalities that perform work on their water lines can inadvertently raise the risk of lead leaching into the water supply. Cities will typically notify residents about increased risks of lead exposure. Cities may, for example, advise residents to boil their water or avoid drinking it. Companies that offer lead removal fort lauderdale services can help homeowners determine their risk levels regarding lead and develop solutions for the problem of lead in water, as well as lead in soil and lead-based paints.

As seen in Flint, Michigan, improperly-treated water and contaminated water can cause lead to leach from lead pipes into tap water, endangering anyone who uses or drinks the water. Lead exposure from Water, soil, lead-based paints and other sources can sicken people and cause damage to various organ systems. Children and elderly people may experience the most severe effects from their exposure to lead. People affected by lead may experience fatigue, hair loss, abdominal pain, kidney damage, nausea, muscle weakness, damage to the nervous system and more. Many residents of Flint fell ill from drinking, cooking with or bathing with lead-contaminated water.

Federal Programs to Curb Exposure to Lead-Based Paints may Face Cuts

Hire professional lead remediation south florida companies to properly eliminate lead-based paints.

Although people generally do not need to worry about the dangers of lead-based paints today, these dangerous and toxic paints do still have the potential to harm people, particularly children. Infants and toddlers who ingest lead may experience neurological problems like brain damage and behavioral disorders and fail to develop in a healthy way neurologically. Reports have indicated that two of the federal programs that aim to reduce childhood exposure to lead, the Lead Risk Reduction Program and the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program, could face significant budget cuts under the Trump Administration. The programs provide training to contractors for proper removal of lead paint, among other objectives.

Housing built before the federal ban on residential use of lead-paint went into effect in 1978 may have lead paint on interior walls or exterior surfaces that could endanger people’s health. Residents in South Florida, as well as property owners and property managers, can hire licensed companies that perform lead remediation south florida work to safely eliminate lead paint from houses, apartment buildings, townhouses, condominiums and other structures in places like Miami Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Hollywood and West Palm Beach.

South Florida’s aging housing stock may put people’s health at risk if homes contain harmful building materials like lead pipes, asbestos and lead paint. Consumers can hire professional and state-licensed businesses to perform lead removal miami services to identify sources of lead in the home and properly eliminate the toxic metal from their residences.

According to a story in The Washington Post, the targeted EPA programs would lose millions in annual funding, severely hamstringing their ability to help states cut childhood exposure to sources of lead. Critcs of the programs have said that they create onerous burdens and add significant costs to remodeling projects and renovations. These critics contend that state-level programs could train contractors more effectively.

Link to article:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/05/trumps-epa-moves-to-defund-programs-that-protect-children-from-lead/?utm_term=.a8adc67f1cea

Signs of Dangerous Lead Exposure

This map shows areas where people face higher risks of lead exposure.

Certain areas of Palm Beach County, and the greater South Florida region, may face elevated risks of lead exposure, according to some research. A map produced by the media company Vox and the Washington State Department of Health provides a detailed look at geographic areas’ risk level for lead poisoning, grading on a scale of 1 (lowest exposure) to 10 (highest). Exposure to lead can cause a plethora of conditions, affecting young children most dramatically, but also impacting adults. Although South Florida residents may live in high-risk areas, they can hire top lead abatement firms to assess the particular lead risk level in their homes. People who live in area like Highland Beach, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton can hire businesses that offer lead removal boca raton services to remove dangerous sources of lead.

Licensed and professional lead abatement companies may work across the greater South Florida region helping clients in commercial settings and residential scenarios eliminate sources of lead, like lead paint and lead pipes. Companies that perform lead abatement fort lauderdale work can help property owners in locations like Oakland Park, Wilton Manors, Miramar, Pompano Beach, Sunrise and Hollywood evaluate their properties for dangerous levels of lead.

The following guide explains some of the warning signs of exposure to harmful levels of lead.

• Elevated Blood Pressure: Lead exposure can cause people’s blood pressure to rise.

• Joint Pain: People’s joints and bones may feel achy and weak due to high levels of lead.
• Muscle Pain: Some people experience muscle pain from lead exposure.
• Mental Lapses: Exposure to lead can cause people to make flawed decisions.
• Memory Loss: People may have difficulties in remembering details and events when exposed to lead.
• Headaches: People commonly complain of headaches due to exposure to lead.
• Abdominal Pain: Some people complain of abdominal pain and other gastrointestinal issues because of exposure to lead.

Some Schools in South Florida May Contain Dangerous Lead Pipes

Communities across the country may have potentially harmful lead pipes.

Across the country, health experts have found unsafe levels of lead in water at schools, prompting administrators and school districts to pursue actions to limit the health threats that result from exposure to lead, especially among children and young people. Following the highly-publicized cases of lead poisoning in Flint, Mich., many people want to act in a proactive way to eliminate unsafe lead from schools, apartments, houses, libraries, community centers and other structures before it sickens people. Environmental remediation companies across the South Florida region can help schools and other entities reduce the dangers of lead exposure with lead remediation south florida services.

Aging schools and other structures in Miami and other locations across the South Florida region may contain lead piping and/or lead paint that potentially pose dangers to people. Rightfully, people have sought out companies that offer lead removal miami services to test for lead and to get rid of lead when they find it. Before people became aware of its dangers, they used lead for water lines and plumbing lines in communities and structures all over the country. Some older communities in the Miami area could have used either lead pipes or lead paint. Lead abatement Miami companies can identify lead piping and lead service lines and replace them with safer alternatives.

Exposure to lead can have severely harmful effects for both adults and children. Lead exposure can cause fatigue, weakness, headaches, constipation, irritability and other symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Young children exposed to lead can experience physical and mental developmental problems. Lead exposure can also lead to health problems like anemia, kidney failure, and other problems of the nervous system, gastrointestinal system and neuromuscular system.

Understandably, school administrators have wanted to tackle the challenge of lead in schools before it leads to serious medical problems for students, educators and staff.