Porch Lead Dust A Threat to Children's Health

February 25, 2015- A new study in the journal Environmental Health finds that porches are a significant source of lead dust in older homes. The study's authors believe that housing regulations regarding the dangerous neurotoxin should be updated to meet this threat to children's health.

The new study is the result of a partnership between the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH), the University of Rochester Medical Center, the City of Rochester, and Action for a Better Community, a Rochester-based non-profit organization.

In a recently published online article, Study: Porches an Overlooked Lead Hazard, ScienceBlog.com writes quotes study co-author Katrina Korfmacher, Ph.D. director of the Community Outreach and Engagement Core of the University of Rochester Medical Center Environmental Health Sciences Center, who says, "This study shows that porches are an important potential source of lead exposure for children. It is becoming clear that porch dust lead can be effectively reduced through repairs, cleaning, and maintenance."

Here are the highlights of the ScienceBlog.com post:

• Lead poisoning has significant health, learning, and behavioral effects, even at levels previously thought to be safe.

• Although federal, state, and municipal laws have contributed to a significant decline in the overall levels of childhood lead poisoning, the rates remain high in some in low income urban areas with older rental housing.

• Nearly twenty percent of homes in the U.S. contain lead paint hazards. The number rises to 35 percent in the homes of individuals below the poverty line. More than 86 percent of the housing stock in Rochester (where the study was conducted) was constructed prior to the ban on lead paint in 1978.

• Rochester and other local communities have adopted ordinances that require owners and landlords to take steps to ensure that the interiors of rental properties are "lead safe." However, the study makes clear that in many instances these requirements stop at the front door and do not cover exterior spaces and structures such as porches.

• "Porches hold the potential to be a source of lead hazards for young children, either from lead dust being tracked or blown into the house or through direct exposure," writes ScienceBlog.com. "This is especially true in urban neighborhoods where porches often serve as the 'front yard' where children play."

• Currently, no communities have standards limiting the amount of lead in dust on porches because there is no federal standard. Until now, there has been limited evidence that mitigating lead hazards in these instances is feasible.

• Researchers sampled lead paint levels on porches at 79 homes in Rochester that had recently undergone lead abatement. Prior to the work, the researchers found that porch floor dust lead levels were nearly four times greater than dust lead levels on interior floors, and when dust lead levels were higher on the porches, lead dust levels were also higher on the interiors of homes.

• ScienceBlog.com writes that after the porches were replaced or repainted, the porch dust lead levels significantly declined — an indication that property owners can effectively address the hazard.

• The study's findings appear to indicate that steps taken to make the interior of homes more "lead safe" may inadvertently be causing the porches to become more hazardous because when interiors were treated for lead paint but no work was done on the exterior, the porch dust lead levels rose immediately after work, most likely from workers tracking dust and debris onto the porches.

• "Without a porch standard, no one was held accountable for cleaning porches after interior renovations," said lead author Jonathan Wilson, Acting Director of NCHH. "Lead on porches should be addressed and standards for porch lead dust must be adopted to protect children from inadequate cleanup."

Read the full ScienceBlog.com post here.

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