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.

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.