Lead, With a Side of Pestilence

Sophia had her state-mandated lead test last week. Finger prick, washed her hands first, doctor had to milk the finger a little. (She hardly cried, and loved the band-aid.) The result?

4.

Not bad. Not alarming. But not great either. I got to wondering. And then I got to the hardware store for home tests. It was vaguely reminiscent of my pregnancy-test purchasing sorties, particularly because I had to ask for help finding the damn things (the local CVS kept them under lock and key, and you had to get a counter person to come get it, and carry it to the front register for you, which was not humiliating at all), and because the basic setup is the same: activate, stare as though by force of will you can make a certain result appear, feel stomach drop to knees, stare some more.

Our present domicile is a rowhouse built in 1958, at which point lead paint, while still legal in America (fucking paint lobby!), contained much less lead and was not as widely used. Most of the paint in this house is in good shape, and the window sashes are set into aluminum sliders. We take off shoes at the front door to mitigate the effects of the construction/restoration project down the street, as well as the ubiquitous paint dust and gasoline residue from the outside world.

But still: 4. Got to be coming from somewhere.

Checked the phone cord Sophia tries to chew; negative. Glazed ceramic fruit bowl: negative. House keys: negative. Windowsills: negative, even where there's some chipping from water damage. Dust by front door: negative. Small worn place on back door exterior frame: well, that'd be positive.

Which wouldn't be so sickening, save for the fact that we've had that door open since it got warm out, and Sophia's been standing against the screen door, right in the doorwell, where all the paint bits and dust hang out. And crawling around in it. And putting her hands in her mouth. And...yeah.

My first reaction was to swear! and freak out! about why we even bothered moving in the first place? if it was going to be a problem here too! Then, of course, I realized, with a little help from Sean, that there's really no comparison. Last place: chipping hundred-year-old lead paint in kitchen cabinets. This place: 1980s wooden cabinets. Last place: windows (painted all around, in painted frames) sporting fragments of original paint circa 1880. Chunks showering down into window wells and onto floor when you open or close. Wells impossible to wipe out because of their own splintering coat of heavily leaded paint. This place: not so much. Last place: interior doors covered with chipping paint on wear surface (where the edge of the door meets the frame, with new piles of chips every morning. This place: hollow-core 1950s doors recently painted in Landlord Cheap White. Basically we have one or two small trouble spots; even with the worst-case dust ingestion scenario, her level was only 4.

That night, thirsty after many hours of discussion and planning, Sean requested a glass of water, since I was headed for the kitchen anyway. I opened the cabinet. Removed a glass. Carried it to the refrigerator. Looked inside it as I hefted the pitcher to pour.

To see A GIGANTIC COCKROACH that had apparently become trapped in the glass. Oh, how I did scream. Oh, how quickly I did invert the glass, slamming it to the kitchen floor and incarcerating the hideous skittering fucker. Sean dispatched it later, in the yard. He asked if I wanted to hear the details of his innovative low-contamination cockroach-smushing method.

I did not.

So we cleaned the entire first floor with special attention to the kitchen, stuffed all the bags of flour and sugar in the freezer, washed all the upturned glasses in the Cockroach Cabinet, wet mopped with Simple Green, did the windowsills for good measure, and made plans to slap some special primer on the worn spots (which we happen to have handy from our previous residence). And vowed to continue the cleaning regimen. Of course, while a lead level of 4 is a matter of great concern to me (though evidently not to the pediatrician), it is certainly, in the bigger picture, within the bounds of acceptable.

The presence of a cockroach, on the other hand, is not.

Comments

[arb]

Jo, I may have mentioned this back in your pregnancy days when all the lead woes were being discussed.

http://www.ledizolv.com/index.asp

We have no state-mandated test here, but I requested one at my baby's 6-month appt, just to get a baseline read before she started to crawl or walk. He results were great, but I intend to have her retested at her one year appt.

[Jo]

Oooh, thanks, arb. I hadn't seen that before.

You know, I think most people wouldn't be concerned about a 4 at all; heck, most doctors don't call unless the number's at least 9 or 10. But I don't want to see that number go any higher at her next test. I think you're wise to keep an eye on it, arb.

[DoctorMama]

HellBoy's was 3.4, I think, and it was kind of icky to know that it wasn't 0, although apparently no one's is. (They made us have a real blood draw for it, though; said the fingerstick one can be falsely elevated.) But, the AVERAGE level when WE were kids was 15. So I guess our kids will be waaay smarter than we are. Anyway, frequent hand washing seems to be the most important thing (and the hardest for me to remember, somehow). We managed to have our lead-laden bathroom torn out without his numbers going any higher, so I guess we did all right.

[Melissa]

re: la cucaracha.

When my children were younger, we lived in a not-so-great house next to other terrible houses so no matter how much we kept buggies out, the neighbors didn't and so every now and again (not often, but it doesn't take much). I had to seriously clean all the cabinet interiors and lay down brand new linings on each shelf every few weeks for my own sanity.

I learned very quickly to store cups and glasses with the open end face down on a new paper lining.

[The Aitch]

And here you are worried about sippy cups.

[L.]

I am a bad mother -- I "forgot" to take my baby to the lab for his blood test after we moved here, because our insurance doesn`t cover it.
Besides, I`m more worried about mercury, considering all the tuna I ate when I was pregnant with him.

We use a boric acid product (Niban Bait) on our vermin.

[DoctorMama]

Oh, I almost forgot: killing cockroaches, whether with poison or by other means, doesn't work. What does: first, WATER. You cannot starve them, but you can drive them away with thirst. Make sure there's no leaky faucets or standing water anywhere and plug all the drains when you go to bed at night. Second, CARDBOARD. The nymphs looove to hide in the corrugations. (I know, EEEW, right?). The rule: NO CARDBOARD IN THE HOUSE.

[melissa]

Ooh, I agree with DoctorMama. Poison does not work and then, well you have poison in your home. The water thing definitely helps. Dry any wet dishes before you go to bed at night. Plug up drains with a drain thingy that covers the entire drain. Try to keep showers, sinks, and tubs dry(er than usual). Close the toilet lid. Blech, no cardboard is a must.

[Amy]

I thought I saw a cockroach in the house and freaked out. I captured it, killed it, and called the exterminator. I saved the roach for his inspection. He informed what I had was not a cockroach, but a different form a roach, I can't remember the name, but a roach that is a loner. He said if I only saw one, that did not mean there were more. (Unlike the field mice...damn corn field next door.)

But I tell you, I could barely sleep for days because I kept "feeling" it crawling on me.

[sarah]

I freaked out about my daughter's 4 on her first lead test (at ~9 months). I couldn't get my husband to freak out until it doubled to an 8 on her 15 month test. Then we replaced the double-hung wndows and her level went down to a 3. I had the water tested by a group I found through the Nutrition Action newsletter: http://www.leadtesting.org/

My only complaint with my second child was getting our new (suburban) doctor to order the test. I asked, they did it. My son's second draw came back as a range of 0-5. Not helpful.

Good luck.

[Kateri]

I would have paid money to see you scream at that cockroach.

[Jade]

De-lurking to tell the grossest cockroach story ever. Lived in an apartment complex with radiant heat. Guess what the little buggers love the most? Warmth and Water. They came up the pipes from the nasty apartment below. Woke up one morning to a roach crawling on my arm on my pillow not 6 inches from my face. Screamed bloody murder and called the landlord. He didn't deal with it, and so I moved, whole different story there, but just wanted you to know I empathize truly with the gross.

[Meganann]

4 is not great, but not terrible. Her ped is probably unconcerned because he or she doesn't think there is much to be done about it. It is just about "background". However, if you can remediate that spot by the door, I bet it will go down.

Generally the lifetime high for blood lead will be around 24 months, so you might want to have her re-checked then. They will do something about it if she is over 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood.

Good luck with the lead and the bugs!

[Alice]

What's a good way to identify the types of bugs?

I keep spotting these tiny, maybe 2 mm wide and 3 mm long, brown-black insects with a hard, pointy-oval shaped shell. I wonder whether they are coming up through the heating system or somehow from next door; the heating system leads to every room, but I've only spotted them in the bedroom, save once in the kitchen. I;ve also had one huge juicy (carpenter?) ant an done small regular ant in the bedroom, and various spiders in the bathroom.

I don't remember ANY infestations growing up. No mice, no meal moths, no roaches or ants or little insects. Once, a squirrel got in; once, a batch of mosquitos invaded; and once, a strange biting fly. But in this city, in five different places, there've been SO MANY critters, mostly in three apartments.

How was this not the case growing up? Is it a matter of multi-unit housing?

Liek the use of "pestilence," Jo.

[Kelly]

Knocking on wood to say we've never had a roach in our house. What we've had though?

A lovely little creature called the camel cricket. Look those bastards up to see a picture. They are awful, and when spring brings warm weather and lots of rain, they seem to materialize in our basement overnight. Thankfully, they stay down there, but still. Going to do laundry is like being an actor in a horror film.

Those little fuckers jump at you, not away. It's apparently part of their defense mechanism to simulate being aggressive.

(Cringe and shiver...)

[tessence]

We just moved into an apartment where the windowwells are full of peeling lead paint. The place was freshly painted, hardwood floors newly refinished, new everything, so stupidly I did not think to inspect the windows. I found out I was pregnant the day we signed the lease; we also have a 2-year-old. So we are sitting here with the windows all closed, paint and floor-refinishing fumes lingering, and waiting to see if the landlords will decide to paint over the windows or just replace them as they were already thinking about doing. Gah! Of course we had to sign a 12-month lease, and we're not even completely unpacked yet, and already ticking off the weeks until we can move.

[Diana]

www.dli.state.pa.us/lead

You can get the number of certified lead removal contractors in PA there, or you can call 717-772-3396 for risk assessors.

OR, 1-800-440-LEAD for health information.
If you live in Philly, and Sophie's level goes about 9, I think, then you might qualify for free abatement. I don't know all the details of that program, but it does exist and might work for you

Just thought I'd pass the information on in case you needed it later.

Hey, it's my job...literally :winks:

[beth]

Our house was built in 1928, and I'm sure there is lead. We do everything we can to keep her, and her brother's, contact with lead chips and dust to a minimum, but honestly, short of say burning down the house, there is no way we'd ever get rid of all the lead paint.

At six months, Anika tested a 7. The pediatrician said, not great, but not horrible, we'll watch it, it usually goes down. At one year, she tested a 3, and at two years she tested a 3. Her 3 year check is coming, and it will probably hold steady if not decrease more. Bowie's first check is next week. So, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Sophia's level drops at her one year check.

And by the way, eeeeeeeeeewwwwwww, cock roach, that story made my skin crawl, really, eeeww.

[Jo]

Thanks, Diana. Interestingly, those numbers are all penciled into the front of my phone book, because of my pregnancy-induced Lead Madness last summer...

Tessence, if you want to take matters into your own hands, you can do a quick seal-over paint job with this stuff. Sean put a coat over the chippy place on the back door, and that stuff is amazing -- it sort of seals the layers of paint together and holds everything in. It dries really fast (like, 15 minutes), so you could have your fella slap some primer down while you take your other kid to the park for an hour, and then return to open windows and a fume-free house.

[Meira]

(Personally, having been down this road and spent much time in conversation with my friend who's daughter was a 27 and, 11 years later, having moved to a new home, gotten new windows, etc, etc is still around 10. I have to point out that a 4 is really very low.)
As for other sources-- well, breastmilk pulls lead from your bones, so if you have some residual from when you were little, she could be getting a little from that. And did you check the bathtub?

Z (level of 13) & H (level of 7) get retested at the end of the month. I'm pretty sure she will have gone down, but I'm betting you're going to win this contest. sigh.

[deanna]

oh my gosh, i thought i was the only woman to ever suffer the dreaded pregnancy-induced Lead Madness. the month before i got pregnant i ambitiously decided to refinish an antique fireplace mantle. i bought a new sander and got to work. that night, i woke up in middle of the night with a revelation that i probably shouldn't have done the work myself. i called in a professional to have the mantle (and everything else we owned) tested and of course the mantle was covered with lead paint. i went to the doctor and he insisted i was crazy to think i'd lead poisoned myself. long story short-- my now 17 month old had undetectable lead levels when he was last checked. moral of the story: whenever you start freaking out, take a deep breath and remember how resilient the human body is.

on a similar note, we're now in the process of buying a 1940 home in massachusetts. while we were house shopping, we encountered a realtor who told us that lead poisoning was really only a problem in poor neighborhoods where children are malnourished and are more likely to eat paint. i was completely apalled that she could be such an ignorant snob. even rich kids put their hands in their mouths! what i can't believe is how people pay big bucks to buy into prestigous school districts but won't pay the $5000 to free the house of lead to be in compliance with the MA Lead Law.

[Laura M.]

Hey Jo,
ever seen this?
http://www.cehca.org/pr030101_kao.htm

[SZ]

Alice: your little tiny brown-black bugs sound like carpet beetles. they live in carpets and upholstery. That may explain why you see them in the bedroom. They're really hard to get rid of without tossing away the rugs et cetera.

[molly]

Vinyl mini-blinds? They are fine (supposedly) when brand new but with exposure to sunlight they release lead on the surface.

[Dorothy]

Good point. I hadn't tuhhogt about it quite that way. :)