Lead pollution

High blood lead levels in children are linked to low IQ and slow development. Vulnerable groups are therefore pregnant women and young children. Lead pollution was for some time, a problem in an urban environment, but since it has been reduced in petrol and removed from paint, the background lead levels have fallen over the past decade.

Old painted surfaces may still present a hazard to those coming into contact with it, and it may be a particular issue in properties where the paint flakes are picked up by children, and eaten or breathed in. Old painted toys may be sucked or bitten by children and again, flakes will be ingested.

Precautions should therefore be taken in older properties with exposed paint that pre-dates the 1970s, when lead was no longer added to paint. Further information is available from the British Coatings Federation at www.coatings.org.uk.